The Twelve Days of Christmas
by pattyrose
Summary: On Christmas Eve, Edward Masen meets his girlfriend Rosalie's younger sister. The twelve days of Christmas will sure be interesting. All human. AU. ExB.
1. Chapter 1 - On the First Day

**A/N: Hey all. A little plot bunny popped into my head last night as I celebrated the holidays with the fam. This will be updated daily and will only be about fourteen or so chapters, total. Hope you enjoy, and hope all those celebrating the holidays right now are having a banging time!**

**All characters belong to S. Meyer. I'm just celebrating the holidays with them.**

**Michelle Renker Rhodes beta'd this chappy quick-fast!**

**Chapter 1 - The First Day...**

* * *

"…make my dreams come true," I sang lowly from the back seat of the cab, mimicking the voice on the radio, "all I want for Christmas is _you_."

Rosalie looked over at me and chuckled quietly, shaking her head while long blond hair cascaded to the front of her chest. She leaned in and whispered, "Edward, babe, don't quit your day job. Singing is definitely not your strong point."

I snorted and brought my lips to her ear, "You didn't mind me singing to you in the shower last night."

She grinned wryly, eyes facing front. "That's because everyone sounds good in the shower."

"_You_ sound really good in the shower." I bit her lobe and imitated all those noises she made last evening, making her squirm in her seat.

She drew in a deep breath just as the cab slowed. "We're here."

I leaned back and looked out the window at the house where the cab finally came to a stop. It was a white, tudor-style house, a bit older looking but well maintained. The snow on the rooftop and on the window panes gave it a holiday postcard look.

I paid the driver and pulled out the luggage from the trunk and then stood there with Rosalie, my girlfriend of six months, staring up at the house. She'd been fine the whole plane ride over here from New York, but now I thought I detected a note of nervousness, apprehension even, in her expression- in her light blue eyes.

"You okay?" I asked her with a smile.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She didn't sound too convincing though. And with a jerk of her head towards the house, she led the way, murmuring more to herself, "I wonder if everyone's here yet."

I balanced a carry-on under each arm and carried one in each hand as I followed her up the driveway, taking in my wooded surroundings. Washington State was definitely different from New York and even from Chicago, where I was from. In Manhattan, the snow would be sticking to concrete buildings, turning to slush in front of dozens of yellow cabs. Here, in this small town called Forks, it glittered off of dozens of trees and bushes, sparkled like jewels off long, thin branches.

A man with dark, curly hair and equally dark mustache opened the front door. His eyes sparkled when he took in his daughter.

"Rosie, hon, you made it before your sister!" His arms encircled her tightly, and she returned the hug just as tight.

"Not surprising, dad. Well, _we're_ here, if that's any consolation." She pulled back and reached back for my hand. I put down the luggage.

"Dad, this is Edward Masen. Edward, this is my dad, Charles Swan."

We shook hands and offered each other obligatory greetings as Rosalie's dad looked me up and down, a small smirk on his lips. I guess I couldn't really blame him. Your daughter brings home a guy for the holidays - as a dad, you gotta give him a hard time.

Rose's mom though…

"Rosalie!" she screeched as she came to the door and hugged Rose even tighter than her dad had. But then she didn't even wait for introductions before wrapping me up in an equally suffocating bear hug.

She laughed. "You must be Edward! Rosalie's told us so much about you!"

"Edward Masen, ma'am, it's good to meet you," I managed to murmur after Rose's mom let me up for air. She was strikingly beautiful for a woman of her age, which had to be at least mid-fifties since Rose was twenty-eight and had a brother four years her senior. Very few wrinkles graced her pale, porcelain face. Her eyes were the same light shade of blue as Rose's, and they both had the same long, blond hair and tall, graceful figure. According to this picture, my girlfriend would age well - a good thing to know since I planned to propose on New Year's Day. I grinned to myself.

Rose's mom looked behind her, as if looking for someone, before turning her blue eyes back to me.

"Oh, I thought my mom had suddenly flown in from Phoenix when I heard you say ma'am because I am definitely NOT a ma'am. Please Edward, call me Renee."

I laughed. "Renee, then."

Loud voices and barking pored in from the hallway beyond, and then more people and two large dogs came to greet us. Rosalie introduced me to her older brother, Jasper, his wife, Alice, and their two young daughters, Charlotte and Victoria. Unlike her dad, Jasper clapped me on the back and welcomed me openly, and his wife was just as friendly. The German Shepherds wagged their tails until Rosalie gave them each a light pat, and then they walked away through the hallway. We all gathered around the front room while they asked us how our flight went, and we made the type of initial small talk people who are just meeting for the first time make.

"Alright guys, let's give Rose and Edward and chance to settle in, and then we'll all gather in the living room and get to know each other better," Renee announced after a few minutes. "Maybe by then you're your sister will have finally arrived."

I heard Jasper chuckle. "Yeah right, mom."

"Rose, honey, your room is all ready for you and Edward."

I cleared my throat uncomfortably, though Renee seemed absolutely fine with her eldest daughter and I sharing a room for the next five days. I refused to look at her dad, though, because I had a feeling he'd be glaring daggers at me, the way he'd surreptitiously been doing so since we'd arrived.

"Thanks, mom," Rose said while I mumbled my own thanks and picked up our luggage.

OOOOOOOOOO

"They all seem really great," I said honestly, once we were in Rose's old bedroom. I was unpacking my clothing and putting it all in either her dresser or her closet, depending on the clothing item. The room was pretty nice: beige walls, pictures of serene landscapes on the wall, a full-size sleigh bed; everything neat and orderly, just as I would've expected of her. "Even your ex-cop dad."

"They are," she said with a smile in her voice. She stood by the edge of the bed, her shirt off as she shimmied out of her jeans. A pretty brown and gold sweater dress lay on the bed next to her, and as I watched her prepare to put it on, I wondered if I could convince her to let me give her a quick fuck before she put it on.

"They loved you by the way," she added, her back to me while she flipped the dress over her head.

I walked over to her quickly and stopped her actions, kissing the back of her neck and holding her waist with one hand while the other hand trailed to cup what her thong barely covered.

"Of course they loved me." I trailed kisses along her collarbone. "I'm good-looking, successful, I've got a great personality and am extremely easy to get along with."

"Don't forget humble," she teased.

I snorted while my hand rubbed her ass. "Like I said, they all seem really great, too."

"_Most_ of them are."

I chuckled, because I knew who she was referring to. "So where was she, anyway?"

Rosalie snaked her hands around my neck, keeping her back to me and pressing her ass purposely up against my groin. I groaned, and she laughed lowly.

"Mom said she called and said she'd be late, that she had something important to take care of for school before she left. But I wouldn't be surprised if mom was just covering for her." I could hear the eye roll in her voice.

"It was probably important," I said, more to appease Rosalie than with any real assurance because though I'd never met her little sister, from the picture Rose had painted of her, whatever was delaying little sis probably wasn't all that important at all.

"Trust me, Edward," she sighed, "It probably isn't. The rest of us have to get here early on the twenty-third, or else they'll be hell to pay, but Bella probably wanted to hit one more holiday frat party before coming home, and now we all have to wait for her."

I chuckled again. "Rose, baby, don't worry about your little sister right now." I trailed my hand slowly from her ass, to her hip, and then felt the light fuzz between the apex of her thighs. My finger moved slowly, and her breath hitched. "How about if I help you forget-"

"Rose!" A voice suddenly called out. "Honey, are you and Edward almost ready? The rest of us are waiting for you both to go cut down the Christmas tree!"

Rosalie quickly pushed my hand and moved away from me, hurriedly throwing her dress on. I dropped my head and smirked.

She laughed quietly. "I guess I should tell you now, my house is kind of crazy for the holidays. We probably won't get much time for _that_."

"Now you tell me," I joked.

She snickered and came to wrap her arms around my shoulders. "I'll make it up to you later. Come on, they're waiting for us."

I cleared my throat. "Uhm…do you mind if I take a rain check on the tree cutting. I've got a couple of work emails to send out before I completely turn off for the holidays." I gave her the crooked grin I knew she loved. "Why don't you go catch up with your family and let them tell you what they really think of me without me around, and I'll meet you downstairs when you all get back?"

She grinned wryly. "I already told you, they love you. My family wears their hearts on their sleeves, Edward," she smirked. For a second, I wondered why she always made it so hard for me to read _her_ if the rest of her family were such open books. But difficult to read or not, Rosalie Swan was beautiful, smart, impressive, and…and I supposed everything else a man could ever want in a wife.

She left, in her brown and gold dress and tall brown boots, looking every bit like a runway model, and after finishing up my unpacking, I pulled out my cell phone and called my own parents. I spoke to my dad for a while about sports, as we usually did, and then he put my mom on, and I reminded her that I'd be there on the twenty-seventh with my girlfriend.

"Mom, uhm…do you still have grandmother's ring?"

My mother was silent for a while. "Yes," she said slowly.

"I'd…I'd like to talk to you about it when I get there."

Elizabeth Masen sighed. "Your grandmother's ring is very special, Edward. Just remember that whoever it goes to should be someone equally as special. Someone you can't see yourself living without for the rest of your life."

After we hung up, my mother's words resonated in my head: "_…someone you can't see yourself living without for the rest of your life."_

In my mind, I pictured what the rest of my life would consist of. I pictured a time when I'd own my own Architectural Agency, instead of working for someone else's, a time when I'd be ready for children, and a time when I'd be ready to move out of the apartment in New York City and buy myself my own house. I pictured someone next to me during all those occasions, but the strange thing was, in my mind's eyes, Rosalie looked smaller, not as tall as she was, and her hair looked…darker….

But that was just the result of a lifetime of not knowing exactly who to picture there. The picture would change in time, especially once I put the ring on Rosalie's finger.

OOOOOOOOOO

With all my phone calls and emails taken care of, I wandered downstairs, searching for the kitchen. After a long day of travel, I was thirsty and hungry.

The dogs greeted me at the bottom of the steps.

"Hey guys," I grinned at them, "What do you say to showing me where I can get some grub around here?"

The dogs both looked at me curiously, tongues hanging out and then walked away through the hallway. I followed them and emerged at a large kitchen, grinning to myself.

"Thanks, guys."

Sure that Rosalie's parents wouldn't mind, I prepared myself a PB&J and a cup of milk while I waited for their return. The skies outside were getting dark, and a few flurries made their way to the ground, and as I stared out of the large, bay window, the flakes gathered together and formed a light blanket that shimmered lightly-

The phone rang.

I jumped slightly because I'd been lost in thought, and because…well I wasn't exactly sure why. Maybe it was because being in a home that wasn't my own, I wasn't sure if I should answer or not. I looked over and saw the phone propped up on the kitchen island, the red light blinking away as it rang and rang. My heart picked up speed as the light taunted me, as the ringing continued.

What should I do?

I stared at the dogs who'd come to rest at my feet. They looked up at me expectantly, tails wagging, tongues hanging.

The phone continued ringing.

With a deep breath, I strode over to the counter and picked it up.

"Hello?"

There was no answer at first. And then, an unsure voice.

"Hello?"

"Yes?"

"Is this…is this the Swan residence?"

"Yes, it is."

She laughed. Whoever was on the other line laughed the sweetest, purest laugh I'd ever heard in my life. It literally made my heart stop for a few seconds. And then she spoke.

"This is Bella. Who is this?"

Her voice was soft and strong at the same time, and I could hear a note of mischief in it.

"This is Edward, Edward Masen."

"Rosalie's Edward?" she cried enthusiastically, as if I'd said I was the President or something.

"Uh…yes."

"Edward!" she exclaimed, "I'm your girlfriend's little sister!"

"Bella, I've heard a lot about you," I said, a wry grin on my face.

"Uh oh." She chuckled again. "That can't be good."

I simply laughed in reply because really, Rosalie rarely, if ever, had anything good to say about her twenty-one year old sister, so I was better off not answering.

"Anyway," she said, "I see you can neither confirm nor deny that statement. Is anyone home?"

"No, they're not here."

She sighed. "Alrighty then, you're going to have to do me a favor."

She sounded so mischievous, and I immediately decided that whatever favor she was going to ask of me, I was going to do my best to comply.

"Go ahead," I said, knowing she could hear the laughter in my voice.

"Well, you've sort of already ruined my plan."

"Have I?" I snorted.

"Yes," she chuckled. "See, something really important came up last minute, and I'm not going to be able to come home until tomorrow, and I know my parents were going to be upset. And since I knew they wouldn't be home right now-"

"How'd you know they wouldn't be home right now?"

"Because they always go cut down the Christmas tree on the twenty-third right before twilight. That way when they come home it's nice and dark, and they can watch all the neighborhood Christmas lights twinkling. It's really very festive," she finished in a curious tone of seriousness.

"And you don't like festive?" I questioned.

"I _love_ festive!" she replied quickly.

I chuckled again. "So why don't you go with them?"

"What makes you so sure I don't usually go with them?" she asked, but I could hear the teasing in her tone.

"Because you said 'they' always go cut down the Christmas tree, not 'we.'"

"You caught that, huh?"

"I did."

She giggled - a hearty giggle full of life.

"If you must know, _Mr_. Masen, I don't believe in cutting down trees for Christmas. It's barbaric. All those poor thousands and thousands of trees cut down year after year for our holiday merriment."

"So you don't believe in Christmas trees?" My lips twitched with humor.

"Of course I do! But I believe in store-bought trees that save our forests."

I laughed out loud heartily.

"Don't laugh at me!" she insisted, all the while laughing herself. "Do you know how many acres of forest we'd save every year if everyone bought a fake tree?"

"What about that nice, freshly cut tree smell?"

"That's what Glade is for."

I laughed again.

"Look, I can see you and I aren't going to agree on this, Edward," she joked, "so let's get back to the subject at hand."

"Okay," I chuckled one last time. "What was the subject at hand again?"

"Well, my original plan was to call while everyone was out, and then leave this heartbreaking message, full of tears and apologies, saying that I wouldn't be able to make it home tonight, but that I'd make sure I'd see everyone bright and early tomorrow. Oh, I planned to put on an Oscar-worthy performance over that voice-mail, but now you've gone ahead and answered the phone and ruined my plan!"

I smirked. "And what are we supposed to do about that now?"

"Now, _Edward_" – there was something about the way she kept saying my name that made me shiver – "YOU will have to pass on the message, and you'll have to pass on the remorse you heard in my voice, and the tears you heard falling, and the sadness in my tone!"

"But you don't sound the least bit sad or remorseful!" I snorted.

"Edward!" she whined, and I could almost see her stomping her feet. "You owe me this!"

"Do I?" I asked incredulously.

"Yes!"

We were both silent for a few seconds, but I could hear her breaths over the phone, and for a second I pictured the lips they were coming from, how full and mischievous they probably were.

"On one condition," I finally said.

She sighed out in obvious relief. "What is it?"

"Your family is really anxious to see you. Make sure you get here as soon as you can tomorrow, okay?" I finished off gently, wanting her to know I wasn't trying to be a prick, but for some reason, I wanted to make sure she got here as soon as she could.

She was strangely silent again.

Finally, she answered quietly. "I promise, Edward," – her voice wrapped itself around my name. "I'll be there as soon as possible. Despite what Rosalie may have told you about me, I'm not that much of a spoiled, self-centered, uncaring bitch."

"Not that much?" I teased again.

She chuckled. "No, not that much."

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**A/N: Thoughts?**

**See you tomorrow!**

**Twitter: PattyRosa817**

**Link to 'Stories by PattyRose' is on my profile...**


	2. Chapter 2 - On the Second Day

**A/N: So good to hear from you guys, both old and new friends, and readers...**

**I had a crazy day so if I haven't gotten back to your review, I will!**

**As usual, there were lots of questions. Hopefully I'll be able to answer most of them as the story progresses, but I've addressed a couple of issues in the A/N at the end.**

**All characters belong to S. Meyer. I'm just putting them through a crazy holiday.**

**Beta'd by my girl Michelle Renker Rhodes.**

**Ch. 2 – On the Second Day…**

* * *

Christmas Eve; four twenty-eight p.m.

While the wall clock ticked noisily against the olive-green wall, Rose, her family and I gathered around the family room. Charlotte and Victoria and the dogs ran around the sofa playing tag with each other while Charlie alternated between watching his ball game on TV and stalking the window every few minutes. Renee kept her eye on him, shaking her head while her lips twitched humorously.

Rose glanced down at the gold watch on her wrist, the one I'd gotten her for her birthday a couple of months ago, and shook her own head.

"She is _unbelievable_," she muttered, bringing her sky blue eyes to me. "She said she'd be here bright and early, right?"

I looked around, quickly meeting every pair of eyes now resting on me. "I mean, she was crying and her voice was kind of low and sad so I can't be that sure, but I think that's what she said."

"I hope nothing bad has happened," Renee uttered, wringing her hands.

"I'm sure she's fine, mom," Rose said through clenched teeth.

"Yeah, mom. Bells knows how to take care of herself," Jasper agreed, turning to look at his dad. "Right, old man? You and I both taught her how to give a good left hook."

Charlie said nothing; simply glared at his son and got up to pace by the window once more.

I cleared my throat. "She didn't sound like she was in any kind of trouble or anything. Just…a bit upset. Actually, I think she said she'd be just fine once she took care of whatever she had to take care of."

I was going to wrap my hands around Rosalie's little sister's throat when she finally got in. I'd done as she'd requested and delivered her message and now poor Renee was all worried and Charlie looked about ready to have some sort of conniption.

The whole while, Jasper and Alice simply shared knowing looks, as if they were more than used to this sort of scene, while Rose scowled away.

"She is such a little-" Rose began.

Jasper cut her off before Rose could really let us all know what she really thought of her little sis.

"So guys, why don't you tell us how you two met?"

Rose gave him a hard glare, like she knew what he was doing.

"Edward and I work for competing agencies. A few months ago, we were both up for the same design job. The day of the presentation, he comes out of the prospective client's conference room looking all smug and triumphant and tells me not to bother," she smirked, "because he's got it in the bag. Despite his warning, I went in anyway and knocked their socks off. And then I came out and sent _him_ home."

"Yeah, but not before giving me your number," I grinned smugly. "So I _still_ won."

We all laughed – well, all except for Charlie, who was pacing away again.

"That's a funny story," Alice said. She was a cheerful woman, tiny in size and frame, with short black hair and small but pretty features. In the past twenty-four hours I'd discerned that she was close to Bella, because whenever Rose said anything negative about little sis, which was honestly pretty often at this point, Alice would bite down on her bottom lip as if she were trying really hard not to curse Rosalie out.

They were a humorous bunch, even when they weren't trying to be. More than once I had to hold in a few misplaced chuckles.

I was still going to choke little sis, though.

"So how did you two meet?" I asked, signaling between her and her husband.

"First day of college," Jasper volunteered. "My roommate James and I were just starting to get to know each other when a small, dark-haired pixie barges into the room." Jasper reached over and picked up his wife's hand, turning to look at her with so much open love in his eyes it sort of embarrassed me. "She was James' girlfriend, but as soon as our eyes met, well, I became a firm believer in love at first sight."

"I keep telling you two," Rose said, while Jasper and Alice just sort of held each other's gaze, "there is no such thing as love at first sight. You were attracted to each other, but the love thing couldn't have possibly come into play until you started to get to know one another."

Alice shook her head and turned her eyes, almost begrudgingly, to Rose. "Nope. Jasper's right. It was love at first sight."

"How could you tell?" I grinned at her.

She grinned back. "Because my heart stopped when I looked at him. I couldn't breathe, but in the most wonderful way. And it was like, I saw my whole future in that one instant. And when my heart did start up again, it beat about ten miles a minute."

"That sounds more frightening than anything," I teased.

"It really wasn't," Alice chuckled. "At least not once I understood what it meant."

"And what did James have to say about all that?" I inquired of their curious story.

Jasper shrugged carelessly. "He had to deal with it. Hey, you can't stop what's meant to be."

I snorted. "That must've made for a very uncomfortable freshman year though."

Jasper chuckled. "Yeah, needless to say we didn't last as roommates too long."

We laughed again. Then Jasper started telling Rose about some old friend that he'd bumped into recently and as I pretended to listen, I thought about what Alice had just said about love at first sight.

Had it been love at first sight with Rose and me?

I'd thought she was the most beautiful and striking woman I'd ever met, that was for sure. Tall and graceful, with a slamming body any model would envy. Long blond hair that shone in the sunlight streaming in from the glass windows. Her confidence had turned me on almost as much as her looks. All I'd wanted to do at that moment was take her back to my place and fuck her 'til the cows came home.

But love?

More like lust at first sight, but that was okay, because I was pretty sure that had been the case for her too. Rose wasn't the overly romantic type, which was fine by me because neither was I. I'd had my fair share of girlfriends before her and most of them clung and pleaded and called and stalked. Rose did none of those things. She was her own woman and didn't need me by her side twenty-four seven, and again that was just fine because I enjoyed my space.

I looked at the way Jasper and Alice's hands remained laced together, resting on their thighs because they sat so close to one another that she was practically on his lap. I'd noticed too how they constantly touched each other throughout the day; a hand on the shoulder here, a stroke of the cheek there.

Rose and I had a different type of relationship. It suited us, just like Jasper and Alice's constant touches and gazes suited them.

My mouth felt dry suddenly.

"I'm going to go get some water," I murmured to Rose. "You want something?"

She shook her head and smiled. "I'm good for now. If Bella ever gets here, we'll be able to finally have dinner."

I snorted.

OOOOOOOOOO

When I walked into the kitchen my heart almost stopped. Crouching against the back door was a small figure who looked like she was being consumed by the two large dogs practically licking her face off. Tails wagged vehemently and whimpers of happiness erupted from their throats.

"Yes, Romeo, yes, Juliet, momma's home," the figure whispered quietly. "Shhh, quiet," she murmured while the dogs did there damned best to display their obvious adoration. "Momma's home."

When she looked up, my heart raced.

For those first few seconds, I wouldn't even have been able to tell you what her face looked like. I mean, I'd seen pictures of her; they were all over the house: Bella as a baby in her mother's arms; Bella as a toddler holding her father's fishing rod; Bella as a little girl running around the back yard with a dark-skinned boy; Bella's high school graduation picture. The pictures told their own story; that she had her father's dark hair and her mother's warm smile; that she seemed to be pretty, though not as glamorous as her mom and sister; that she was slim and a lot shorter than her siblings.

But the pictures hadn't captured her eyes, and for those precious few seconds, that was all I saw.

They were dark and deep and sparkled like the two brightest possible stars in the sky, so much written in their bottomless depths that I was sure I could've stared at them forever and not known half of the things there were to know about her.

"You must be Edward," she murmured, breaking the strange spell her eyes put over me. Her mouth twisted up in a grin while she simultaneously hugged the dogs and tried to keep their tongues off her face.

I blinked. My eyes focused and now I could see her entire face, but still, I stood there mute, unsure as to what had just happened while her long, dark hair glistened with fresh snow, encircling the top of her head like a makeshift halo. Her cheeks were as rosy as fire kissed by the cold. No, pretty didn't quite cover it, but neither did stunning or exotic or model-like. She was so natural it was as if the freshest breeze of summer air had suddenly taken human form and invaded the December night.

"You _are_ Edward, aren't you?" she frowned.

I grinned. "Bella. I see you finally made it."

"I did," she chuckled lowly as the frown disappeared. "It wasn't easy, but I did."

"And not a minute too soon." I jerked my head towards the family room. "The natives are getting restless."

She smiled; a sweet though nervous smile. "Yeah, I can imagine." She drew in a deep, slow breath through narrowed lips, as if trying to gather her courage.

"Are you okay?" I found myself asking.

Her shoulders seemed to relax under the puffy winter vest she wore. "Yeah, I'm good. So tell me, Edward, exactly how much trouble am I in?"

"Loads, Bella. Including with me," I smirked.

She chuckled.

I took a step closer, meaning to help her up. "Where have you-"

The kitchen door flew open and Renee stormed her daughter, beating me to help her up and wrapping her arms around her.

"Bella, honey, I heard Romeo and Juliet whining and I knew! I just knew it was you!"

She replied something about knowing the dogs were going to get her busted, but I didn't quite get it because Renee had Bella's face pressed into her chest.

I chuckled.

And couldn't look away.

Then Jasper and family burst into the kitchen.

"Bells! You made it, babe!"

Renee finally let go and Jasper pulled Bella roughly into his arms in a big brother kind of way.

"Hey, bro. How's it going?"

When Jasper let go, Alice and Bella hugged tightly, like two sisters instead of simply sisters-in-law.

"Missed you Bella."

"Missed you too, Ally."

Then her nieces joined the hug, each holding on to one of Bella's legs and chanting "aunt Bella!" as if Santa himself had arrived a few hours early.

Charlie slowly walked over to her. "You're home."

They were two simple words, but when he hugged her to him, the pure love I felt emanating from the man was staggering. "Welcome home, Bells."

"Dad."

Again, a simple word, but the affection was almost palpable.

And then someone cleared their throat behind me. It was a voice I clearly recognized so I turned around and saw Rose, blue eyes cool and strangely expressionless.

Bella let go of her father and the nervousness, the apprehension that had been on her face a few moments ago abruptly returned. She smiled through it though.

"Hey, big sis. It's good to see you. You look great."

Rose didn't say anything for a few moments.

"I'm glad to see you finally decided to join us." She walked over to me and took my hand. "This is Edward. Edward, this is my sister, Bella."

Bella smiled wider, but didn't reach out to shake the hand that already tingled at my side, so much so that I had to open and close it a few times to get rid of the strange sensation.

"Yes, we met over the phone yesterday. I hope I didn't frighten you or anything with all the crying."

I held in a smirk. "I'm okay."

"Well, we've all been waiting for you to finally get here so we could have dinner. Mom's poor roast is probably all dry by now," Rose cut in.

"I'm sure it's fine," Renee said quietly.

Bella's face seemed to fall. "Oh. Yeah. Sorry I'm so late. Let me just wash my hands and I'll help get everything ready."

And then everyone just sort of awkwardly left the room, save for Renee and her daughters, and I frowned, confused by Rose's cool greeting to her sister, confused by so much that had happened in the space of five minutes.

OOOOOOOOOO

Christmas Eve dinner with the Swans was a slightly different affair from what I was used to, coming from a much smaller family. Back in Chicago all I had were my parents and my older brother, Emmett. Now while Em and I could get pretty boisterous, it was nothing compared to two parents, three siblings, a sister-in-law, a pair of four and six year old little girls, and two huge german shepherds. Everyone spoke over each other and about twenty different conversations were carried on at once.

It was fun - in an insane sort of way.

Questions and comments and answers flew back and forth all across the table; diagonally, side to side, head to head and in every imaginable direction.

All except for Bella and Rose.

At least, at first. And honestly, it should've stayed that way.

But when dinner wound down, that was when the real show began.

"So Rose, Edward, how did you two meet?"

"We covered that earlier, Bella," Rosalie responded, taking a sip of wine and not meeting Bella's gaze. "You should've been here on time."

An uncomfortable silence filled the room for all of five seconds. Bella looked down at her empty plate, and though she was smiling, I could see something else beyond it.

"We met through work, Bella. We competed for the same job, and your sister won."

I glanced over at Rose. She was staring down into her wine glass, expressionless once again.

"Well, I could've told you that you stood no chance going up against Rose and her designs," Bella stated.

I grinned and waited for a smart aleck response from Rose. Some sisterly teasing. Nothing.

"So why exactly couldn't you come home yesterday, Bella, like the rest of us, and why were you so late today?"

Again, Rose didn't even look at Bella as she questioned her. And for her part, Bella was doing an equally impressive job of studying her wine glass.

"It's complicated."

"Complicated why?"

"Hey, mom, pass me some more of that there roast, will ya?" Jasper asked.

"Well, for one, I wasn't the one driving home today. Jake was. Therefore I had to abide by his schedule," she said firmly, with a tone of finality. But then she cringed and took a quick sip of her wine.

"Bella, you came home in the truck?" Charlie questioned.

Bella's lips formed a tight line. "Yes, dad."

"Then why was Jake driving and not you?"

Bella pressed her lips together even more tightly.

"_Bella_?" her father questioned in an authoritative tone.

Bella drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I got stopped for speeding again. My license was revoked for six months."

Charlie slammed his hands down on the table, making everyone jump. "Damn it, Bella!"

She cringed. "Hey, who's the one that taught me that yellow lights mean speed up? It's not my fault I drive like a cop's daughter _or_ that some of those Seattle cops don't care if my dad's retired from the force!"

Charlie glowered at his daughter. For a split second, I feared he might actually climb over the table and choke her. But then, his mustache twitched, and he grinned slowly.

"So you had to have Jake drive you home?"

Bella nodded.

Charlie snorted and dug into his roast.

"That's it?" Rose asked. "She gets her license revoked for speeding and that's all she gets? No punishment or anything?"

Charlie looked up at his eldest daughter. "Hey, she's got to be at the mercy of Jake's driving for the next six months. That kid drives like a turtle. I think that's punishment enough."

"Seriously," Bella agreed. "We would've been here about an hour earlier if I'd been behind the wheel."

Rosalie glared between her father and sister.

I cleared my throat.

"Bella, what do you study up in school?"

Bella grinned proudly. "I'm pre-med."

Rose snorted. "Pre-med. That's a joke."

"And why exactly is that a joke?" Bella frowned.

"Because you don't study real medicine."

"Veterinary medicine _is_ real medicine. I'm going to change the way animals are treated in this country!"

"You want to change the world? You should be saving people, not mutts. Mom and dad spend a lot of money on your education."

Bella just stared at her. And then she grinned wryly. "See, Rose, this is why Romeo and Juliet barely give you a nod when you come home."

Rose rolled her eyes.

"And what's so bad about wanting to save the world, anyway?"

"Nothing at all. But before you take care of the rest of the world, try being home on time for your own family."

"Says the woman who lives on the other side of the continent and comes home once a year."

Jasper, who'd been sitting at my other side, leaned in and whispered, "Shit, here we go."

Apparently, this here show was a yearly affair.

"At least when I'm here, _Isabella_, I'm concentrating on our family, not on what my next illegal adventure with the neighbor will be. And the reason I'm on the other side of the continent is because I have _real_ goals and _real_ ambitions. I'm not content to just settle."

Bella threw her napkin down on the table. "I am _always_ concentrating on this family. While you're away in your fancy city living your fancy life and fulfilling all your fancy goals and ambitions, you have no idea what's really going on over here!"

"Bella, not now," Renee said, but Bella was apparently on a roll now.

"And my goals and ambitions may not seem like much to _you_, but they suit _me_ just fine. I am _not_ settling. I will _never_ settle!"

"Alright, you gave your impressive and heartfelt speech of the holiday, dear sister. Now sit down."

Bella glared at Rose. "Mom, dinner was delicious. I'm going to get some air now, but I promise I'll be in soon to help you clean up."

She stormed out like a whirlwind, leaving everyone, including me, staring after her.

Jasper sighed and wiped his mouth with his napkin before getting up. "Well, for those guests who are joining us for the first time, this is the part of the evening where I get to play Switzerland."

I looked over at Rose. "What the hell was that all about?"

She took a sip from her wine glass and stared in front of her, still expressionless.

OOOOOOOOOO

Later, we all cleaned up and spent some more time in the family room, talking and watching holiday movies, and pretending that my girlfriend and her sister didn't say one more single solitary word to each other for the rest of the night. Then a few minutes before midnight, Rose and I retired to our room.

I went in to take my shower, and for one split second I considered asking Rose to join me, but she'd been aloof all evening. I didn't think she was in the mood for a joint shower, and frankly, neither was I.

I climbed into bed and stared up at the ceiling while I waited for her to take her own shower. All the while, the image of Bella as she'd looked when I'd first walked into the kitchen, with snow all over her hair and her cheeks red and rosy circled around in my head. The fierceness in her face and voice when she'd argued with Rose at the table played itself like a reel in my brain.

Was she really the spoiled, selfish kid Rose made her out to be?

When Rose turned off the lights and slid under the covers, I turned to face her.

"So what's the deal between you and your sister?"

Rose sighed. "You don't understand. She acts like such a sweet thing. Like she wants to save the world when really all she cares about is herself. That speeding and getting her license revoked and then getting the poor lovesick neighbor kid to drive her home? That's typical Bella. She's been using that poor kid all her life, too. And you see how my dad is with her. He can't stay mad at her for more than five seconds. He didn't even ask what the hell she was up to yesterday! They've spoiled her rotten since the day she was born. She's gotten away with murder since day one."

I chuckled and spooned Rose against me. But she felt stiff and angry.

"Rose, babe, that's just a result of being the last kid. The baby. They always get spoiled. I'm the youngest between my brother and I and I'll admit, I milked that shit for all it was worth for a while, too."

"And then she's always going on one of her idealistic binges. She has no idea what the real world is like because my entire family shields her. Even Jasper!"

"Well if that's the case, maybe you should help lower that shield gently, not snatch it away from her," I snorted.

But once again, my words apparently had no effect on Rose's mood. I leaned in and kissed her neck.

She moved away from me, to the edge of the bed. "I'm tired, Edward. Dealing with Bella is exhausting. Let's just get to sleep."

I sighed. "Alright. Good night. Merry Christmas," I muttered.

"Merry Christmas."

But I tossed and turned for a few minutes, and while I could hear Rose's slow breathing, signaling that she was easily off to slumber-land, I simply couldn't get my mind to switch off.

Bella's image…her eyes…her grin…her defiance and anger and…sadness…I couldn't get it out of my mind.

I got up and quietly crept downstairs for a drink of water. Romeo and Juliet met me at the stairs, once again guided me through the dark hallways into the kitchen, like two sentries. I walked to the fridge and opened it up, and then froze when I heard a sound behind me. Low, but definitely near. I closed the fridge door and walked quietly to the door to the back yard. Through the light of the full moon and freshly fallen snow, I saw Bella.

She was sitting alone on the porch swing, hugging her knees to herself while her long hair cascaded around her small body like a silk curtain.

And crying so softly that the only reason I could make it out was because I stood there, transfixed by the rise and fall of her shoulders, by every soft sound that emanated from her.

My chest ached. It ached in a way I hadn't felt in a long time; probably not since my old girlfriend Tanya had broken up with me back in freshman year of college for the star quarterback.

I think it ached even more than then.

My hand fell to the doorknob. I gripped it tightly, its coolness ghosting through my whole body as I stood there torn between going outside to find out what had one sister crying and reminding myself that my job was to comfort the other one. Not this one. Not the one sobbing outside.

In the end, I picked up my glass of water and returned to Rose's room.

* * *

**A/N: Thoughts?**

**I know a lot of you are grossed out by the relationship between Rosalie and Edward, but remember, they are NOT brother and sister in this story. And I know a lot of you are wondering how the heck we're going to get E & B together through this mess. One word: Trust.**

**As for the characters ages, some of them are in Ch. 1, but I'll restate them here: Edward: 28, Rosalie: 28, Bella: 21, Jasper and Alice: 32, Charlie and Renee: mid-fifties, Charlotte: 6, Vicky: 4.**

**Twitter: PattyRosa817**

**Link to 'Stories by PattyRose' is on my profile.**


	3. Chapter 3 - On the Third Day

**Jeez, I love hearing from you guys. It seems like a lot of you can relate to either Rose's or Bella's situation in one form or another- either being the older sister or being the younger sister. I am personally the middle sister, though my sissies and I never fought over a guy (unless Adam Levine and the blond guy from Menudo count.) Family dynamics aren't always easy, especially when a handsome man steps into the fray…**

**All characters belong to S. Meyer. I'm just wrapping them up for the holidays.**

**Michelle Renker Rhodes is my helper elf on this here journey. (And I mean that in the best possible way.)**

**Ch. 3 – On the Third Day…**

* * *

Christmas morning, I woke to Rose's mouth on my chest. I could smell the mint on her breath. She had a thing about morning breath; though personally, I'd never really been bothered by it, especially when the mouth in question would simply trail lower and lower, past my abs, past the 'v'…

As was the case now.

I groaned, eyes closed in glorious anticipation.

"Merry Christmas," she chuckled, her words vibrating against my stomach.

"Merry Christmas, indeed," I murmured back while my cock stood as straight as a fresh, well-tended Christmas tree just waiting to be trimmed.

A fresh Christmas tree that, according to _someone_, should've never been chopped down.

A sudden flash of dark hair and deep, bottomless eyes abruptly flashed before me- a mischievous chuckle, a quiet sob.

I gasped sharply and opened my eyes, pulling away from Rose's wandering mouth so fast that I bumped my head up against the white, wooden headboard.

"Ow! Fuck!" I rubbed my head, feeling a bump already forming.

Rose looked at me wide-eyed. She wore a red, silk nightie that definitely hadn't been on her last night.

"Edward, what's wrong?"

My chest heaved, heart racing in my chest; after effects of both the almost head-job and the shock at what face had just flashed before my eyes while almost getting the aforementioned head.

Rose sat up on the bed, a sharp 'v' forming between her brows. She cocked her head to the side and studied me, but then grinned that seductive grin I'd always loved on her and dropped on all fours.

She stalked over. "Are you playing hard to get, Edward? Is that my punishment for being in a mood last night?" Her hand reached out for me playfully. I squirmed away.

"Rose, Edward! We're ready to open the gifts! Are you two coming down soon?"

Rose closed her eyes and exhaled, sitting back on her legs before opening her eyes back up.

"My mom has always had the worst timing," she chuckled. "We'd better get down there."

I nodded vehemently.

"I'll make it up to you later."

I nodded again, and when she climbed off the bed and walked over to the closet, I let go of the breath I hadn't even noticed I'd been holding.

OOOOOOOOOO

With Rose dressed in a red holiday wrap dress that covered up a hell of a lot more than the red jammies had and with me dressed in jeans and a red polo, we made our way downstairs, towards the noise and voices and barking that came from the main living room.

The first thing I saw was the tree. It was over six feet tall, decked out in white and gold balls and gold garland, white lights sparkling brightly. Dozens and dozens of presents splayed out under it.

The second thing I saw was Bella.

She sat on the floor in jeans and a red tank top and a Santa hat piled up on top of her dark head - and no sign of the tears that she'd cried the night before. A dog rested on either side of her, and a niece sat on either leg. The dogs each chewed on a huge bone wrapped in a red ribbon, while Charlotte and Victoria each combed away on the long dark hair of a couple of dolls.

Our eyes met, and for a few wondrous seconds, they were _all_ I saw.

She blinked. "Merry Christmas!" she called out.

"Merry Christmas," Rose and I both answered.

"I thought you guys were waiting for us to come down to open the presents?" Rose added.

"The girls and the doggies got impatient," Bella answered sheepishly.

"Or maybe _you_ got impatient," Rose chided, but there was a playful note to her tone that hadn't been there last night.

Bella seemed to pick up on it, too. She chuckled, her shoulders relaxing. "Maybe I did. I've got a really nice gift for you, Rose," she exclaimed excitedly, pulling the girls gently off her lap and getting up, heading towards the back of the sofa.

"Why are your gifts behind the sofa, Bella?" Rose asked.

"You know I won't put them under that poor, murdered tree!"

Rose simply shook her head and snorted. She unwrapped the box Bella handed her to reveal a soft, black item that appeared hand knit. And as she pulled it out, Bella exclaimed,

"I knit it for you myself. Mom showed me how last month. It's a shrug. I was going to make it pink, but I know you like black better."

Rose's expression betrayed nothing, but I knew her well enough to know that she'd never wear that once we were back in the city. My chest ached again, the way it had last night when I'd found Bella crying by herself.

Bella plainly vibrated in her skin while she waited for Rose's reaction.

"It's beautiful, Bella. Thank you."

The overwhelming relief I felt at the way Bella beamed at her sister's words was beyond puzzling. I couldn't help hoping that perhaps, despite Jasper's allusions, last night had all just been a strange anomaly, or even a weird dream, beginning when I'd walked into the kitchen to find Bella crouched next to her dogs and up to and including the way Rose had treated her at the dinner table.

Maybe, today things would be normal again.

OOOOOOOOOO

We all gave out our presents. I gave Rose a braided gold necklace that left her appropriately speechless for five minutes. I'd chosen it because the thin, gold braiding would match my grandmother's wedding band – the one I planned to give her on New Year's.

"You like it?" I asked after I adjusted it on her neck.

"You know I love anything from Tiffany's."

"What if I'd given you a piece of jewelry that wasn't from Tiffany's?"

"As long as it was new and expensive and sparkly, I'd love it," she teased.

Well, grandmother's ring definitely wasn't new, and I wasn't sure how expensive it had actually been since my grandparent's hadn't had a whole lot. There were no diamonds in it, I remembered that much.

Rose gave me an elegant pair of gold cufflinks that she'd once seen me admiring. She'd gotten them engraved with my initials. We gave each other quick, family-appropriate kisses in thanks.

Then we gave out the presents we'd brought for her family. Rose had insisted it wasn't necessary, but I'd decided to pick up an item for each of her family members as thanks for welcoming me into their home for the holidays. So after she gave out her gifts, I pulled out the pile of gifts that I'd brought.

For Renee, I'd gotten a soft, cashmere scarf that she oohed and ahhed over while I grinned smugly. For Charlie, a new Mariners baseball cap that Rose had assured me he'd love. From his blank expression and mumbled thanks though, I couldn't really tell. For Jasper, I'd gotten a points card for his gaming system because Rose had told me he was a die-hard gamer and based on the way he whooped and hollered when he opened it, it'd been the right choice. For Alice, I'd gotten a pair of cashmere gloves, the same style as Renee's scarf. She put them on and purred about how warm and comfy they were. For each of the girls I'd gotten a reindeer stuffed animal that Bella eyed with more appreciation than they did.

And for Bella…

I hadn't known what to get the spoiled little sister that Rosalie only spoke about in disparaging terms. I'd never met or spoken to little sis, but I couldn't picture her in the cashmere her sister loved, or enjoying a points card, or tucking her hair under a baseball cap. Completely at a loss as to what to get that last member of my girlfriend's family, I'd gone with something _I_ would've enjoyed.

I handed Bella the box, which she took gingerly, and if I hadn't known how ridiculous it was I would've thought we both ensured that our fingers wouldn't touch as she took it. When she opened the box, she did so with the hesitancy I would've attributed to a navy seal when disconnecting a bomb. And when she finally did pull out the black, leather-bound journal, she stared at it silently.

"Oh my goodness, Edward, how did you know?" Renee exclaimed, looking appreciatively at Bella's gift. "Did Rose tell you how much Bella loves to write?"

I nodded slowly, though Rose had done no such thing. My eyes remained trained on Bella. For some reason, I felt really anxious about her reaction- more than I'd felt about the rest of her family, maybe even more anxiousness than I'd felt when Rosalie opened her gift.

"It's beautiful," she finally murmured. Her words made something in my chest jump. Then slowly, without actually meeting my gaze, Bella stood up and made her way over to where I stood with Rose. Reaching up on her tiptoes, she planted a soft kiss on my cheek.

"Thanks, Edward."

I will never be able to appropriately describe what I felt when her soft lips touched my cheek because there are no words in the English language that can convey the pure and perfect warmth that suddenly consumed me, that made its way into my chest up to my scalp and down to the tips of my toes.

"You're welcome, Bella," I managed to murmur, though what no one knew was that all the while my mind was in bewildered turmoil. I worked to regulate my breathing through the overwhelming heat that now threatened to bring me to my knees.

What the hell was going on?

OOOOOOOOOO

After Christmas breakfast, Charlie suggested a morning trip to an ice-fishing lake a couple of hours away. I agreed wholeheartedly. The fact that Bella jumped up and down happily at her father's mention of the trip had absolutely nothing to do with my own enthusiasm. Rose bowed out, claiming she hadn't brought the right clothing for an ice-fishing adventure though Bella offered to lend her something of hers. Alice couldn't come because the girls- too busy playing with their new toys- didn't want to leave the house. Renee confessed that she was a bit tired and that while she loved Charlie, any sort of fishing, especially that done in ice, had never been her thing. Once she heard her mother mention being tired, Bella offered to stay home, but Renee insisted she go and have fun.

So half an hour after the plan, we were all supposed to meet by the foyer.

When I arrived, Bella and Charlie were close to the door, whispering quietly. Charlie pulled Bella into a tight embrace. Her delicate shoulders rose and fell, the way they had last night. When she looked up, her dark eyes glistened. Once again, I had to fight the urge to go to her, to find out what was obviously bothering her this holiday season.

But a wide grin quickly graced her pretty face when she saw me. And she laughed.

I laughed too, because I was wearing a pair of long-johns under a pair of insulated, waterproof pants and an insulated hoodie under a waterproof jacket.

"Don't laugh at me!" I chided her, grinning like a fool all the while.

"I'm not laughing at you, _per se_," she chuckled, "just at how…natural all that looks on you, despite all the fancy clothes you arrived here with."

I gave her a quick once-over then, meaning to tease her about her outfit, but fuck if she didn't look simply adorable in her ice-fishing gear. I smirked, because any other reaction would've just been too obvious and inappropriate.

"Go ahead," she dared with a raised brow, "Make fun of me. My dad and Jasper always do because these clothes fit me so big."

"You're just…petite," I offered with a grin.

"You can say it," she snorted, "I'm short."

I shook my head. "Petite."

And then, for what felt like minutes, but was in all actuality probably just a couple of seconds, we simply stared at each other.

It was Bella that broke our gaze.

She turned to her dad. "Uhm…dad's not coming. He's going to stay home with mom."

For the first time since arriving at the foyer, I actually paid attention to someone other than Bella. It was true; Charlie wasn't decked out in ice-fishing wear, rather in the red flannel checkered shirt he'd been wearing since earlier this morning.

"Everything okay?" I asked.

Bella and Charlie shared a quick look, but then Bella grinned at me again, though this time it didn't seem to quite reach her eyes.

"Everything's fine. Hey, Jasper!" She looked beyond me then as I heard a pair of footsteps approaching. "Why aren't you dressed yet?"

"I'm not coming, guys. I feel bad leaving Alice to deal with the girls alone on Christmas day."

Bella frowned. "Dad's not coming either."

The three of them looked at one another, and I got the distinct feeling that something was being said that only the Swans understood.

"Maybe I should stay home, too," Bella murmured.

"Look, guys, don't worry about me," I said. "I'm fine staying home for the rest of the-"

"No. Bella, Edward, go," Jasper said, his voice suddenly solemn and commanding. He was ex-military, and right about now, it showed. "Dad and I can go ice-fishing anytime, but you're up in Seattle most of the time, and Edward here," he clapped me on the back, "is all the way off in that fancy city of his. Go enjoy."

Bella stared at her big brother for a few seconds, and then drew in a deep breath.

"Okay."

OOOOOOOOOO

At first, the car ride was…quiet…and uncomfortable. We took Bella's truck, an old but well-oiled Chevy, and I took the wheel because Bella didn't currently have a valid license. She instructed me on what roads to take to get out of town, and then the only noise was that of the radio, and for me at least, the sound of my heart racing in my chest and blood pounding between my ears.

"So…did you enjoy all your gifts?" I finally asked, attempting to break the maddening tension in the truck.

She nodded silently, but then added, "Thank you so much for the journal, Edward. It really is…beautiful. I'm sorry I didn't have anything for you."

I chuckled. "Knowing you enjoyed your gift was enough for me."

I felt my face heat when the words came out, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Bella look down at her lap.

"That was a beautiful necklace you gave Rosalie."

I nodded, feeling strangely…guilty. "I picked that up a while ago."

"Well, it's really pretty, and Rose sure seems to love it."

"Rose does like her jewelry."

Bella chuckled. "Yes, she does."

I glanced at her sideways. "You don't like jewelry." It wasn't a question.

She shook her head, staring off in front of her. "I mean, it's okay, but…"

"You like journals, and hand-made gifts. Gifts that show how you really feel about someone."

I saw a small smile play on her pretty lips. She nodded.

"And you don't like cutting down Christmas trees."

She chuckled again. "No, I don't."

"And you love animals."

Another chuckle. "Yes, I do."

"And your family means the world to you-every single one of them."

"Yes, they do."

We were quiet again, but it didn't feel as uncomfortable as before.

"What are _your_ likes, Edward?"

I drew in a deep breath, trying to think clearly, but it was getting so hard to do so. Her soft, soothing scent wafted in the air all around me.

"I like…I like staring at an open space and imaging all the things I can fill it with: the different shapes and designs I can create. I like…waking up on a Sunday morning at six a.m. knowing I have absolutely nowhere to go. I like…knowing that my parents won't ever have to struggle again because my brother and I can take care of them. I like…imaging what my own house will look like someday when I have enough time and funds to create it."

"You're going to build and design your own house?" I could hear the smile in her voice, and it made me smile in return.

"Yup," I grinned at the windshield.

"Where?"

"That, I don't know yet." I chuckled.

"What's it going to look like?"

"I don't know that either, exactly," I laughed.

She was silent.

"Well, do you plan on having children?"

A flash of dark-haired toddlers resting in my arms suddenly filled my head.

"Someday."

"Then you have to make sure each kid's bedroom has its own bathroom, especially if you have both girls and boys because trust me, sharing a bathroom with your big brother is _not_ cool."

I laughed. "Okay, bathrooms for each kid. What else?"

"A full size finished basement, so that everyone can play without making a mess upstairs. You can keep a pool table down there too, if you like that kind of stuff."

"I do," I confirmed.

She giggled. "I thought you would."

"What else?"

"A big back yard with lots and lots of trees because they give you fresh air and cool breezes."

"And we'll never cut them down."

"NO! Never!" she laughed.

"Keep going."

"And a big kitchen, with enough room to-"

She stopped suddenly.

"What is it?"

"I just remembered. Rosalie doesn't really like cooking."

My heart dropped to my feet.

"Well…_I_ like to cook," I almost whispered.

"Do you?" she asked in the same low tone.

I nodded.

"Okay." I could hear the smile in her voice again. "Then a big kitchen with a huge island counter for all your cooking."

"What else?" I murmured.

"A big dog house in the back yard- for more than one dog."

"More than one?" I snorted.

"Yeah," she chuckled.

"And what would the exterior of the house look like, Bella?"

She stared out of her window. "I like tudors," she breathed, "like my parents' home."

I nodded. "Tudors are good."

OOOOOOOOOO

The lake was frozen over, and honestly, at first I was scared to walk on it, but Bella laughed and informed me that it was checked out daily, and that enough layers of ice had frozen to make it perfectly safe. But it was when she wrapped her small, gloved hand around mine and pulled me forcefully onto the lake that I complied. I would've walked over the thinnest layer of ice at that point.

And in a way, I was sort of doing exactly that.

Bella showed me how to use the hand auger to break a hole through the ice, and then she showed me how to hook the bait. We weren't the only ones out on the lake, but everyone was properly spread out, and Bella told me it was to make sure there wasn't too much weight in any one place. A fact that made me visibly shudder. She laughed.

"Don't worry, Edward, I'll save you if you break through."

"You're about half my size, Bella," I smirked.

"Hey! I'll have you know that I'm pretty strong for my size."

"I get the feeling you are."

She looked down at the rod in her hand, and it was hard to tell because her face was so flushed from the cold in the first place, but I thought I saw her cheeks turn even redder. She looked like an ice princess out here surrounded by all the glittering snow- like she belonged in any and every scene of nature imaginable. I wanted to reach out and touch her, to feel her warm skin under all those layers, the way I'd felt her warmth this morning when she'd kissed my cheek.

We caught a few fish - perch and bass, trout and something Bella called a black crappie. And just as I started imagining how the bass would taste sautéed in some nice olive oil with some Spanish seasonings we could probably pick up at the market on the way home, Bella announced that it was time to throw the fish back.

"Back?" I questioned.

"Yup," she grinned impishly. "We're catching and releasing."

I looked down at her where she sat on the overturned bucket with her ice-kissed cheeks and nose, red lips puffy and swollen from the cold, and so god damned beautiful that my chest ached more than it ever fucking had because I wanted to bend down and…

And what?

_Damn it, Edward! She's your girlfriend's little sister!_

I started laughing. I laughed and laughed so hard that I could see Bella staring at me like I'd lost my mind. And then I lost my balance and ended up on my ass on the ice.

Bella was suddenly over me, wide-eyed and forehead crinkled. She reached out to touch my face, but stopped herself mid-way.

"Are you okay?"

I stared at her uplifted hand and snorted. "Okay? Yeah, I'm okay. Come on, let's finish our catch and release."

OOOOOOOOOO

Somehow, we ended up singing Christmas carols on the ride back home. The sun was going down, and the snow glittered off of the large branches canopying the wooded roads. She had a sweet voice, though slightly off key, but I wasn't one to talk.

"Did you have a good time, Edward?"

"I had a great time, Bella."

"Sorry you won't be eating your fish, but they're not in season, and it would've been wrong to take them."

"No, you're right," I sighed, watching as a thick block of snow fell off a branch just in front of the road. "It would've been very wrong."

OOOOOOOOOO

"Bella?"

"Yes?"

"What would you think of an old piece of jewelry that hadn't been exactly monetarily valuable in the first place-that had no diamonds or gems, but was simply really pretty and really special?"

She didn't answer right away, and when she looked out of her window, at the blurring white and brown landscape surrounding us, I didn't think she would answer at all.

"I would think the world of it, especially if it had a wonderful back story- something that filled it with meaning and love." She opened the truck's passenger side door because we'd arrived home, and then turned to me with her deep, bottomless eyes.

"Don't worry. She will too."

OOOOOOOOOO

After Christmas dinner, we gathered in the living room once more to talk and enjoy each other's company. Rosalie sat close to me and surprised me by lacing her hand with mine.

"I missed you today," she said quietly, leaning her head on my shoulder.

I didn't answer immediately.

"Me too."

OOOOOOOOOO

Bella entertained the family with snippets of our ice-fishing adventure, and with what I was pretty sure was a great description of the look on my face when I learned I wouldn't be bringing home my precious bass. Everyone laughed at all her stories, even Rose.

Later that night, once the girls had gone to bed and Renee and Charlie had retired for the evening, and the rest of us were just lounging around the TV, Jasper emerged from the kitchen balancing a few six packs. My eyes lit up like that damned Christmas tree.

"Get your coats on," he ordered, jerking his head towards the door. "We're taking this party to the porch."

We sat around the small table outside, bullshitting and laughing and having a pretty good time. We'd all had a couple of beers and were feeling pretty mellow. Jasper pulled out a pack of cigarettes and offered it around. We all took one except Rose and Alice.

Rose pursed her lips at Bella as she put the cigarette to her mouth and lit it. Then she glared at Jasper.

"I can't believe you're condoning her smoking."

Jasper just rolled his eyes.

"I'm twenty-one, Rosalie, not five. Besides, it's not like I smoke all the time. Like my big brother, I like a smoke when I'm having a beer or three," she grinned.

I nodded because it was exactly the same with me.

"Which must be all the time for you, little sister."

Bella sighed, and suddenly, the atmosphere shifted.

"Contrary to what you seem to believe, big sister, I don't spend my days and nights drinking myself into a stupor up in school."

Rose didn't say anything. I quietly hoped she'd decided to just leave it alone.

"How's Jake doing?" she asked Bella.

"He's doing well," she answered, taking a puff from her cigarette and blowing the smoke out behind her so as not to blow it in any of our faces.

"You still stringing him along?"

"I don't string him along, Rosalie," Bella whisper-hissed, her eyes on her beer can. "We're just friends, and he knows that."

"One wouldn't know that by the way he pants after you just like one of your loyal little puppies: Romeo, Juliet, and Jake."

"He _doesn't_ pant after me."

"Oh yes, little sister," Rose laughed, words slightly slurred, "he definitely does."

Bella sighed again, deeper this time.

Alice spoke up. "It's not her fault if Jake doesn't get it. Bella's been clear enough. You can't always control how some people feel about you. I keep trying to remind her of that."

Rose simply stared at Alice. "Hey, I'm not asking her to apologize," she snorted. "When you've got it like that, you've got it like that."

"Alright, Rosie." Jasper spoke lowly. "Maybe it's time for Edward to take you upstairs."

Rosalie stared at Jasper. "Yes, maybe it is."

My eyes flashed quickly to Bella. She still had her head down, but she looked…dejected. An image of her out here on this porch by herself yesterday, crying, filled my mind.

"Do you mind if I finish my beer, Rose, or do you need me to come up with you right now?"

"I'm not fall down drunk here if that's what you're worried about, Edward," she giggled, standing up and playing with the hair at the nape of my neck. "Go ahead and finish your beer, but come up soon, okay?"

I nodded.

"I'm going to call it a night too, hon," Alice told Jasper. She leaned in and gave him a firm yet soft kiss on the lips that for some strange reason once again made my chest ache. "Don't be too long."

I'm sure no one missed the undisguised longing behind those words.

"I won't," Jasper promised.

Jasper and I watched them both leave. Rose seemed a bit unsteady on her feet but nothing dangerous.

Bella kept staring at her beer can.

"Hey," Jasper said, looking at his youngest sister once the other one was out of view. He nudged her with his elbow, but she kept her head down. "Hey!" he nudged her again. She smiled tightly. "Hey!"

Bella looked up, and though she looked at her brother and not at me, in her sweet, small face I recognized the crushed expression her sister caused every time she slammed her.

No, I wouldn't be going up soon because if I did, I might say or do something to Rose I'd probably regret.

"You know she doesn't mean those things," Jasper said comfortingly. "It's just her way."

"Her way with _me_," Bella whispered. "not with anyone else."

Jasper sighed, but didn't respond one way or the other.

But then Bella drew in a deep breath and grinned, though once again it didn't reach her eyes.

"Jazz, tell me again how the girls beat your ass on the xbox today."

Jasper went into a story about he and his daughters, but I was barely hearing his words. All I could replay in my head were every single moment I'd spent next to Bella since she'd arrived in this cold, snowy little town. And how wrong it was for me to find those moments to be the best I'd spent since I got here. And how…angry I was at Rose for how she treated her sister. And how badly I wanted to feel her warm skin again. And fuck, what the hell was I thinking?

What the hell was I thinking?

"Well," Jasper clapped his hands together once, "I've got a warm body waiting for me upstairs."

"Eww," Bella laughed, feeling better now that her sister's words were just a memory.

"Eww, my ass. I'm going up to collect my real Christmas present!" he chuckled. "You two ready to go in?" He stood up and waited.

"You guys go ahead." Bella waved us off and pulled out another cigarette from the pack Jasper had left on the table. "I'm going to have one more smoke and possibly one more beer."

Jasper snorted. "You're going to have a hell of a hangover tomorrow if you don't quit while you're ahead, sis."

"I'm going to _need_ a hangover come tomorrow."

Jasper was silent. Then he leaned down and planted a kiss on Bella's head. "Come in soon, alright?" He turned to me. "Ed, you coming in?"

I should've said yes. I should've stood up and walked inside the house with him and left little sis to her last cigarette and one more beer and gone to find my girlfriend, the one I was planning to propose to in just a few days.

But I couldn't move. It was as if some invisible string had been created the moment Bella had walked into this house just last night, and with every minute that passed, with every moment I spent with her, that string grew stronger and stronger.

I shook my head and smiled, holding up my beer can. "I'm gonna finish this first."

Jasper shrugged and turned around. "See you guys in the morning. Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas," we both answered unevenly.

In the dark of night, with the only sounds those of crickets hidden in the trees, our eyes met. She smiled at me- a sweet, shy smile. I smiled back with the same uncertainty.

"Bella…"

"Yes?"

"Has she always been like that with you?"

Bella looked away from me then, her eyes falling on the wooded landscape beyond, white swirling with brown.

She inhaled deeply. "I remember being five. Rose was twelve, and Jasper was sixteen. My parents took us camping and left the three of us together one morning while they quickly went into town for some more supplies. We'd been warned to stay away from the lake until they came back, but of course-"

"You didn't," I smirked.

"No, I didn't," she smirked back. "I waded through the most shallow part of the lake and slowly made my way to the middle, and then got stuck when the current grew rough," she laughed.

I shook my head, imagining the little girl I'd seen in the pictures stuck in the middle of a lake.

"Jasper yelled at me to stay where I was, and then he swam over and rescued me, yelling and screaming all the way back to land. When my feet hit the ground Rose pulled me into the tightest hug she's ever given me, and when I looked up she had tears streaming down her face. I hold on to that memory - a lot," she finished quietly.

I nodded because I had no idea what else to say. My brother, Emmett, and I had always been so close.

"Tell me about your family," she murmured, as if she'd read my mind. "You have a brother, right?"

So I told her about my family, about my big brother Emmett and all the trouble we got into together as kids. I told her about my mom, Elizabeth, and my father, Emmett senior. I told her about the time Emmett and I took the family car for a joy-ride, right after he'd gotten his license and ended up having to wait for our parents to pick us up at the police precinct.

She laughed. "Sounds like Emmett and I would get along."

I gazed into her sweet, mischievous eyes. "Yeah, I think you would."

"What did Rose think of that joy-ride story?" she asked with a wry grin. "She's quite opposed to speeding as you can tell."

I shook my head. "I wouldn't know what she'd think of it. I've never told her the story."

She bit her lip and looked down.

"Tell me about Jake," I found myself asking.

She looked away into the trees again. "We grew up together. His parents and mine are really good friends. We've always been good friends, but then…when I was sixteen, it turned into something more."

"More?"

"We dated for a little over a year," she shrugged. "But when we started college, I told him I'd rather go back to just being friends."

"Ouch," I joked.

She looked down sheepishly. "I cared about him too much to lead him on, you know? I know…I know he still feels more, but he knows, I _have_ made it clear to him that the spark just isn't there."

"The spark?"

"Yeah." She looked up at me, smiling impishly once more. "You know. The spark? The flame?" She looked away from me again. "Alice has told me about the spark, and it just…it just isn't there."

My heart beat out a disjointed rhythm. I tried to lighten the suddenly heavy atmosphere.

"So you're a hopeless romantic then?"

She snorted. "I…I never thought I was. Not until…"

God, what was she saying? What was _I_ doing?

"Maybe…maybe Alice is exaggerating things a bit, Bella. Maybe the spark doesn't exist."

"Maybe." She stared at her beer can.

"Have you…ever felt that spark?"

I waited. But she stared down at her beer can and didn't answer. After a few long minutes, she picked up the can and drained it.

"I'm going in now." She stood up, pausing just behind my chair. "Tomorrow's going to be a long day, Edward."

"Why?"

Again, she didn't answer, and when she started walking away, I reached out and grabbed her wrist

A thousand and one sparks flowed through my hand into every extremity in my body. She shuddered, but God, I couldn't turn to the flame. I couldn't.

And yet I couldn't turn away from it, either.

"Bella…"

We held each other's gaze, so many unspoken words on either side. My grip tightened around her wrist…

"Edward…" she said softly, "I'm glad Rosalie brought you down with her. She's going to need you tomorrow. You need to be there. For _her_."

I swallowed thickly because I'd never _really_ wanted Rose to need me that badly.

But that didn't mean I didn't want to be needed. I didn't _need_ to be needed.

"And you, Bella. Who will _you_ need tomorrow? Who'll be there for you?"

Her eyes sparkled, like dark jewels in the moonlight. She didn't answer.

"Good night, Edward."

I let go of her wrist, and she walked away.

* * *

**A/N: Thoughts?**

**Twitter: PattyRosa817**

**Link to 'Stories by PattyRose' is on my profile.**


	4. Chapter 4 - On the Fourth Day

**A/N: Yes, I know. I missed an update yesterday. Sorry loves, RL and all that happened. So here we go. **

**All characters belong to S. Meyer. I'm just wrapping them up for the holidays.**

**Beta'd by my chicky Michelle Renker Rhodes.**

**Chapter 4 - On the Fourth Day…**

* * *

The day after Christmas, I awoke to the sound of the shower running in the adjoining bathroom. For a long while, I stared up at the white ceiling; my thoughts all fucked and jumbled together like a bowl of goddamned mush. I drew in a deep breath and exhaled, running one hand through my hair, scratching my stomach with the other. The bathroom door had been left ajar, and through the narrow slit I could just make out an arm, a leg emerging from the shower, reaching for the towel…

I flipped over to my other side.

After a few minutes, I heard Rose step out of the bathroom, felt the swirling steam from the hot shower surround me. The mattress dropped and shifted, and I sensed the distinct feeling of a bare body pressed up against my back.

"Edward…"

I closed my eyes…and swallowed.

"Edward, are you awake?"

When I didn't answer, she shook me firmly.

"What is it?" I asked without turning over, voice thick and rough from sleep.

"I asked you not to stay down too long last night. I fell asleep waiting for you."

"Sorry."

She ran her fingers through the hair at the nape of my neck, pressed her body closer. I squeezed my lids tighter, wishing myself to the deepest pits of hell.

What the fuck was my problem? My girlfriend, the one I'd always loved fucking - the one I was planning to propose to in a few days for the love of god, was pressed up behind me naked and wanting dick, and all said dick could do was hide under the covers like a scared little girl. The thought of turning around and touching her felt like a…betrayal of some kind; like I'd be _cheating_ for fuck's sake.

"Edward…"

I could hear the lust, the raw desire in her voice. Sex with Rosalie had always been so good.

Her fingernails trailed lower, across my shoulders, ghosting down my back. I clenched my jaw, questioning my very sanity at this point.

And cleared my throat. "Rose, my head's pounding. I had one too many last night."

Her hand dropped away, body withdrew. For a long while, she simply lay there. When the bed shifted again and I felt her get up and walk to the dresser, I exhaled through narrowed lips.

"I told you to come up soon, Edward," she said in an obviously irritated tone. "Now, you're going to have a hangover for the rest of the morning."

I didn't answer. Drawers pulled open loudly and closet doors slammed shut.

"You can sleep it off if you want," she finally said, still sounding pissed off. "I'll meet you downstairs when you're ready."

The door to the bedroom opened and closed and the sound of her receding footsteps echoed down the hall. Alone in the room, I sat up in bed and lowered my feet to the cool floor. With a snort at my own stupidity, I fisted my hair in both hands and let out a muffled groan of frustration.

OOOOOOOOOO

After Rose left, I took my own quick shower and threw on a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt. I thought about stalling on having to go downstairs by packing up all my shit, since we'd be leaving tomorrow for Chicago to spend New Year's with my family. In the end, I decided against packing now. As much as I wanted to avoid one sister, gleaming brown hair and sparkling doe eyes called to me. My chest ached at the thought of waiting any longer. All the while though, I played an interesting game of "What the fuck is your problem, Edward?" in my mind.

I went to find the kitchen.

Rose was standing by the stove with her mom.

"Good morning," I called out.

Rose didn't bother turning around, but Renee turned and gave me an impish grin. "Good morning, Edward. Rosalie tells me you have a bit of a hangover today."

I grinned back sheepishly. "Just a bit."

Her grin grew, and then her eyes trailed to the figure standing quietly by the kitchen counter - the figure I'd been acutely aware of since the second I'd walked into the kitchen.

Bella stood by the counter island, hair wet and shining while the scent of sweet shampoo wafted in the air. She wore a pair of faded jeans and a black tank that hugged her slim figure perfectly. No Santa hat today, though - which I sort of missed. It'd looked really cute on her.

And she was holding up half a carrot in one hand and a celery stalk in the other. "Don't worry, Edward. I know the secret cure for hangovers."

I couldn't help chuckling while I wondered what exactly I was looking at.

Rose snorted. "Good luck with that, Edward, if you decide to try it."

Bella ignored her. Instead, she stuck the carrot and celery in a blender where a variety of other fruits and veggies had been cut up and thrown together and sent everything spinning around the glass jar.

"While Bella gets that ready," Renee said softly, "Rose and I will finish up breakfast."

"Can I help?" I offered.

Bella yelled over the loud hum of the blender. "Let him help, mom. Edward likes cooking."

Rose whipped her head around. "Since when?"

"I've always liked to cook. I just don't get much of a chance to do so back in New York."

Rose stared at me, head cocked to the side.

"Well then, we'll have to give you an opportunity to practice your secret art while you're here with us," Renee said sweetly, "but for now, breakfast is almost ready. Set the table?" she requested.

"Sure."

I nodded and walked over to where Bella stood, blender whirling away, and I swear, the kitchen grew warmer and warmer the closer to her I got.

"Excuse me, Bella," I said, because she was right in front of the utensil drawer.

"Oh, sorry," she jumped, laughing. When I reached out to open the drawer, my hand grazed her thigh.

I closed my eyes and suppressed a groan, grateful for the noise of the blender, grateful that Rosalie and her mom were behind me and couldn't see my reaction or Bella's for that matter since I was blocking her from view. When I opened my eyes, Bella was biting her lip, her face flushed in a way that left no doubt that she'd felt the same thing I'd felt when my hand touched her.

"Sorry," I mumbled, heart racing the way it only ever did around her.

"S'okay."

OOOOOOOOOO

Almost all of us sat around the table enjoying the breakfast Renee and Rose had prepared. Jasper and I, however, waited for Bella to emerge from the kitchen with the promised cure.

"Hey, sis, what's taking so long? I'm about to toss last night's dinner here!" Jasper called out.

Alice smacked him playfully on his arm while Charlie looked up and glared at him.

"Sorry, but it's true," Jasper chuckled heartily. I laughed along with him.

When Bella finally walked in from the kitchen, I re-evaluated the benefits of drinking the green liquid she carried in a pitcher versus simply dealing with a headache for the rest of the morning. Even Jasper made a face. As a matter of fact, Romeo and Juliet seemed to be the only ones interested in tasting the concoction Bella carried. They circled her and jumped on her legs, begging for a taste.

"Okay, who needs some of this?"

Jasper raised his hand. "Pour some of that sweetness over here."

Bella quickly and obediently poured him a tall glass, and then gingerly pushed it towards him.

We all watched Jasper stare at the glass. Little pieces of red and yellow danced around inside.

"Aunt Bella, that milkshake looks yucky," Vicky called out.

Bella laughed.

Alice patted her daughter's head. "It sure isn't the prettiest thing your aunt's ever made," Alice agreed.

"Alrighty girls," Jasper finally said, "if daddy doesn't make it, please know that I loved you both with all my heart."

"Shut up, Jasper," Bella snickered, "and just drink it."

And after flexing his arms and muscles like the hulk, Jasper picked up the glass and drained it in one go. His daughters were cracking up by the time he finished.

"God, that was gross," he grimaced.

Bella threw her head back in uncontrollable fits, and I tried not to let my fascination overwhelm me.

"But effective as all hell," she chuckled once she was done. "Watch, you'll feel just fine in a few."

Jasper smiled indulgently at her.

Then Bella took a sip off her glass and screwed up her face. "Fuck, that tastes like shit!"

"_Bella_!" Charlie warned. "There are little girls present!"

"Sorry, dad. Sorry my girls," she grinned sheepishly, covering her mouth. Her nieces giggled while Alice pretended to glare at her and shake her head.

Charlie snorted and went back to his food, but his mustache twitched from side to side.

Rose rolled her eyes.

But I only saw that in my periphery because Bella was looking my way now.

"Alright, Edward. Are you ready?"

"Can I have some aspirin instead?"

Bella shook her head. "Aspirin is a blood thinner, Edward, as is alcohol. It may make you feel better, but it's not helping your system recover." She poured me a glass of her green slime and pushed it carefully towards me. "Try it," she cooed gently. "It's not _that_ bad. I promise."

The way she looked at me, the way her eyes sparkled, I would've tried a glass of straight up poison at that point. I reached out for the glass.

And then Rosalie spoke.

"Bella is a big believer in alternative medicines, Edward. Those pharmaceutical companies are going to _love_ you once you start practicing," she snorted cynically at her sister.

"Lots of alternative medical platforms are extremely valid. In fact, many of today's pharmaceutical medicines literally get their roots from the alternatives with extra shit thrown in for a good show."

"_Bella,_" Charlie warned.

"It's that extra shit that does the job," Rose declared.

"Not always. A lot of times it's that extra shit that makes us sick."

"Rose, can you please pass the orange juice?" Jasper asked quickly.

"So you're saying the pharmaceuticals are purposely trying to make us sick?"

"I didn't say that, Rose. I'm simply saying that sometimes sticking to nature is best."

"Mom, these pancakes are delicious. Aren't they delicious Bella?" Alice asked anxiously

"Is that why everything in this house seems to be organic now?"

"What's wrong with organic?"

"Absolutely nothing. But it's expensive as hell. I hope mom and dad aren't taking on the extra expense just to satisfy another one of your idealistic whims."

Bella clenched her teeth together, closing her eyes for a split second before opening them up again. And when she did, her eyes burned.

"Jesus Christ, Rose, what in the world did I ever do to you besides be born?"

"Bella, please, stop being so melodramatic."

"Rose." I said it quietly, but firmly because fuck, I'd only been here three days and couldn't take it anymore. I had no idea how Bella had dealt with her shit for so long.

"No, Edward," Rose insisted, "she does this every year."

"_She's_ not doing _anything_, Rose," I hissed lowly.

Rose and I stared at each other, and as we did, I could tell we were both seeing a side of each other we'd never seen before.

"Alright, girls, that's enough," Charlie said in a stiff tone.

"Bella, Rose," Renee said more gently. She sighed, and then slowly turned her eyes to Rose.

"Rose, darling, since we're on the subject of…medicine and why we're buying everything organic now, there's something we have to talk about as a family."

Every hair on my arms stood on end.

"I'm going to take the girls and the dogs for a walk," Alice murmured, giving Jasper a quick peck on the cheek before getting up and taking each one of her daughters by the hand.

I cleared my throat uncomfortably and made to stand too. "Charlie, Renee, would you like me to step-"

Renee cut me off. "Edward, stay. You've become very close to this family in just a few short days."

I nodded.

Everyone left was silent for a long time, though the tension was palpable. At that moment, with what I'd seen of Rose in the past few days, I couldn't picture myself giving this temperamental, implacable woman my grandmother's precious ring, the one I was only supposed to give the woman I couldn't picture myself living without. I couldn't remember what had made me think that I loved her. Even when we'd said the words to each other, they'd been robotic, as if we were saying them because it was what we _assumed_ we should say not because we had one fucking clue what those words really meant.

But Bella's words from last night haunted me; every single phrase she'd uttered, including what she'd said about Rose needing someone today.

I reached over and took Rosalie's hand.

Charlie stood up and went to stand behind Renee, placing his hands on her shoulders. Renee reached up and covered one of his hands with hers.

"Mom, Dad, what's going on?" Rose asked.

Renee smiled, but it was a sad, wistful smile. "Rose, darling…" – she paused.

I glanced over at Bella. She was watching her mom, her features stoic.

Renee went into an explanation of how she'd felt a lump, how she'd gone to the doctors in Seattle, how they'd done tests.

Rosalie sat there, paler than usual; her features frozen. I squeezed her hand. She didn't squeeze back.

I looked over at Bella again. She was staring straight ahead, that stoic expression still on her face. But her bottom lip trembled, and God, I wanted to reach out to her. But in the eyes of everyone here, including Bella, my place was next to Rose.

Renee smiled brightly and drew in a deep breath. "We've caught it early. The doctors are confident that with appropriate treatment, I should pull through just fine."

Rose nodded vehemently. "Alright, Mom, what are your options?"

Bella was the one to answer. "She has a few options, since it was caught early. Among them are _chemo_, of course," – she spit the word out – "but there's also this new, alternative treatment the hospital suggested, which consists of natural-"

Rose cut her off and glared at her mother. "Mom, please tell me you're going with the chemo. You can't play Bella's nature games with this."

Bella's nostrils flared. She opened her mouth, but then shut it quickly, eyes dropping to her lap.

"We all discussed it and weighed the pros and cons, and yes, Rosalie, we've decided on chemo. In fact" - she moved the red button-down sweater she'd been wearing over to reveal a small, clear pouch against her chest, and a thin tube attached to it, attached to her skin – "I had an appointment this morning while you guys still slept, and I'm on my first round of it right now."

Everyone sat in silence, and for the first time, Rose's grip on my hand tightened. "Oh, Mom."

"It's okay, hon," Renee smiled reassuringly. "It doesn't hurt."

"Do you feel nauseous?" Rose asked.

"Not…yet. But the doctors have told me I probably will."

As much as I knew I shouldn't, my eyes kept trailing to Bella. She kept staring down, seeming stoic, expressionless, but in the past few, short days, I'd memorized every expression on her face, the way a tiny line would form between her brows when she was confused, how her bottom lip would pout when she was upset, where her forehead would crease when she was worried, how her beautiful, bottomless eyes would go blank when trying not to show emotion. But a face like hers could never be emotionless.

Bella didn't like the chemo. It wasn't the option she would've chosen.

"What else do the doctors say, Mom?" Rose asked.

Jasper answered this time.

"She has to be careful what she puts inside her body. That's why they're buying organic now. She can go on with her regular daily routine, but she also has to make time to rest. Stress should also be limited."

Again, there was silence after Jasper finished.

"Why didn't anyone tell me?" Rose suddenly asked. Her head shot up angrily, accusingly. "Why didn't anyone tell me what was going on?"

"Rose, we didn't want to worry you," her father said. "We know you lead a busy life, and we didn't want you to feel like-"

"I would've come down! I would've come back sooner!"

"Rose, everything's going to be okay," Bella said softly from across the table. "Mom's going to be fine."

Rose turned her glaring eyes to Bella. I immediately stiffened. Yes, I'd learned a lot about Rose in the past few days; I'd seen sides of her I'd never imagined. I'd come to recognize that for whatever reasons, Rose felt threatened by Bella. She loved her, but she also used her as her personal punching bag. And right now, Rose wanted to punch something.

"What would you know, Bella? You think just because they're teaching you how to treat dogs now you're such an expert on cancer?"

"No, Rose, of course not. But I've done some research, and mom's prognosis is pretty good."

Rose glowered her way, nostrils flaring. "You heard what Jasper said about stress?"

My stomach rolled because I wasn't exactly sure where she was going with this, but I knew it couldn't be good.

I squeezed Rose's hand tighter, begging her to stop.

"Yes, I know stress plays a big role. In fact, all environmental conditions-"

"You're the biggest stressor of all on Mom and Dad, Bella."

Everything seemed to happen at once then.

"_What_?" Bella spit.

"Rose, honey, stop," Renee pleaded.

"Everything you fucking pull! Always in the middle of one issue or another! Your license revocations, changing your major five times and you'll probably change it again. What was it last year with the dog kennel? You and Jake broke in and let all those dogs loose! Mom and Dad had to pull every string they could to keep your record clean! God knows what else you're up to up in that school!"

Bella sobbed openly now. "I'm not doing anything there besides what I'm supposed to!"

"Rose," Charlie warned.

"YOU are the biggest stressor of all!" Rose repeated.

"Goddamnit Rosalie! Enough!" I bellowed, shaking off her hand.

Silence.

Every pair of eyes at the table suddenly rested on me.

"Enough," I repeated, voice lower but firm. "You can't put this on your sister. You _can't_."

She stared at me again, bewildered, as if she were looking at me for the first time. I held her gaze.

Until out of my periphery - ever aware of the small figure out of my periphery - I saw Bella stand up from her chair and run out of the room.

Jasper dropped his head back and sighed heavily. "Fucking perfect, Rose." He picked his head back up and scowled at her. "You know what? I _try_ to be Switzerland up in here, but that was really low, even for you. Go talk to her."

She scowled back at him defiantly, making not one single move to get up.

Renee started to stand. "I'll go find her."

Jasper shook his head and pushed his chair back. "No, mom. I'll go. You need to relax." He turned burning eyes back to his sister. "Rose, you just talked so much bullshit about stressors. Take a good look at the shit you just pulled right now." And with that, he walked off in the same direction Bella had –in the same direction, I had to stop myself from running in.

OOOOOOOOOO

I laid up in Rose's bed that night fully clothed, staring up at the ceiling once more. My luggage lay open next to me, shirts and pants haphazardly thrown in. I couldn't focus enough to finish. I couldn't concentrate on anything other than Bella running out of that dining room, wondering where she was, who was comforting _her_.

Rose stepped out of the bathroom and simply stood there, staring down at me. I kept my eyes on the ceiling.

"I'm not coming back to Chicago with you," she said, voice devoid of any emotion. "After all this, I've decided to stay with my family for a few more days."

"I assumed that much," I answered.

She was silent, not moving from her spot.

"Rose."

"What?"

I should've just left. I should've packed my shit and called a cab to take me to the airport first thing the next morning, but Bella's face swam before my eyes, her scent consumed me. I couldn't leave her here alone with Rose.

Bella had said Rose would need me, but I'd always known Rose didn't need me that way. And I'd been fine with it. I'd thought I didn't _want_ to be needed that way.

Maybe the truth was, I'd just never found the one I wanted to be needed by.

Until now.

"I'm going to stay a bit longer, too."

She didn't answer right away.

"You don't need to do that, Edward."

"I've come to know and care about your family in the past few days. I think that gives me the right."

Again, she didn't answer.

"I'll stay through New Year's Eve, and then I'll fly back to Chicago. And then…we'll figure out the rest once we're both back in New York."

She walked to the light switch, and I was left in total darkness.

OOOOOOOOOO

A few hours later, I was still tossing and turning. Rose breathed quietly next to me, fast asleep almost since the moment her head hit the pillow. I'd admired that of her once, how easily she fell asleep when the slightest worry, the smallest concern tended to keep me up for hours.

Once again, I found myself wandering downstairs for a drink of water, only this time I didn't even make it as far as the kitchen.

As I passed the family room to my right, I found Bella sitting quietly in the dark, in red flannel pajamas, staring intently at the flickering pictures on the TV screen.

She startled when she saw me, big brown eyes growing wide.

"Edward," she breathed.

I stared down at her, heart racing once again, and I knew that deep inside this had been my hope, that I'd find her down here.

For a few precious moments, we simply held each other's gaze. And then slowly, I made my way over to her, reveling in the magnetic pull I was only just starting to recognize, to accept.

When I sat down next to her, so close that our thighs touched, she didn't move away. My hands ached to touch her, but though she hadn't moved away from me, I could see the apprehension and confusion mixed with everything else in her expressive eyes – eyes that were red and puffy, though dry now. I fisted my hands at my sides to keep them still because God I wanted to wrap them around her.

She smiled sheepishly. "I couldn't sleep."

"Neither could I. Are you okay?" I whispered.

She searched my eyes, and then nodded slowly.

We remained locked in each other's gaze.

"Bella…"

Her chest rose and fell while her eyes bored into mine. It was her hand that reached up, so maddeningly slowly I thought I would die while I waited to see, to _feel_ where it would land because in my mind it had already wrapped itself around my heart. Still, I closed my eyes in total contentment when her warm fingers grazed my forehead.

"My mom almost died giving birth to me," she murmured.

I opened my eyes again. Her eyes were on her fingers, with the way they played with a few strands of my hair, warming me all over with that heat I'd only ever known since the moment I heard her voice.

"She had complicated pregnancies and wasn't supposed to have any more children after Rose. I was an…accident," she smiled wryly.

"Bella, I've seen the way your mom _and_ your dad both look at you. You were a blessing," I corrected quietly.

She smiled wider, eyes still on her fingers on my hair, but the smile quickly faded and she shook her head.

"Rose was seven when I was born- old enough to remember everything I suppose. My mom was in and out of the hospital a lot when she was pregnant with me. She was admitted at 33 weeks for the remainder of the pregnancy. I guess Rose missed her – a lot."

"That doesn't give her an excuse-"

"She almost bled out when I was finally born. Had to stay in the hospital for another month after that. I've read up on her condition. It must've taken months of recovery."

I reached up and took her hand, wrapping it in my own and bringing it down between us. We both looked down and stared at them, at the way our fingers laced together. Perfect - like a puzzle.

"Bella…" - I rubbed soothing circles over her hand – "…she can't blame you, and more importantly, _you_ can't blame yourself for any of that."

"Her life was perfect before I came along. She was the perfect girl, the _only_ girl they were supposed to have." She snorted and looked up at me, deep brown eyes melding with mine. "I suppose I have been spoiled growing up."

"Bella, all I see when I look at you is a young, caring woman who loves life, who loves nature…" – I drew in a deep breath and with my free hand, reached up and cupped her soft face – "who's beautiful in every possible way."

Our chests heaved, and I could almost hear her heart beating as forcefully as mine.

"Don't let her make you think you're anything but, Bella. You're _not_ a stressor." I ghosted my fingers across her cheek, along her jaw line around her other cheek. "You're a light, Bella- a glorious, bright light in every life you touch."

Locked in her endless eyes, I suddenly saw my whole future clearly before me and nothing else mattered. Not how we came to be here. Not how we'd have to explain this. All that mattered was the woman before me, and how my heart would now forever be in her hands.

My eyes fell to her lips, to the sweet pouty bottom one and how I wanted to kiss it, to feel its softness, its warmth. Bella saw the trajectory of my eyes, and her own eyes fell to my mouth. She licked her lip that bottom one that called to me, and slowly our heads inched closer together.

"Bella…" I breathed.

She backed away.

Her eyes, her expressive eyes shone with sadness.

"Edward, I can't. She's my sister, Edward. My _sister_."

A fear more powerful than any I'd ever known suddenly gripped me: that I'd lose her, that I'd never be able to call her mine because I'd once called her sister that. But I hadn't known. Jesus, I hadn't _known_.

"Bella, she and I" – I shook my head desperately – "there's nothing there anymore, and I think we both know it."

Her bottom lip trembled, the one I'd wanted to kiss and in her eyes, I saw that it didn't matter. That wasn't the point.

"Regardless of what's there or not, she will _always_ be my sister, and you will _always_ have been hers first. And she would never, _ever_ forgive me."

I closed my eyes against the lump in my throat, against the weight in my chest that was making it difficult for me to breathe. I tightened my hold on her hand. I gripped her cheek firmly.

"Bella, tell me you don't feel it, the spark, the goddamned _fire_ when we touch, when we simply look at each other, and I'll back off." I opened my eyes again. "Tell me you don't feel it."

A single, solitary tear rolled down her cheek. "I can't, Edward." She drew in a deep breath. "I can't."

And she unlaced her hand from my own and walked away, leaving me cold and empty.

* * *

**A/N: Thoughts?**

**Twitter: Pattyrosa817**

**I will TRY to update tomorrow guys, but its New Year's Eve and I may be otherwise occupied. If so, love you all and Happy New Year!**


	5. Chapter 5 - On the Fifth Day

**A/N: Happy New Year everyone!**

**Let's continue our story, shall we? Daily postings should resume now. (I say 'should' because you never know…)**

**All characters belong to S. Meyer. I'm just wrapping them up in my own little packaging.**

**Michelle Renker Rhodes beta'd this pretty long chapter.**

**Chapter Song Rec: Come Undone by _Duran Duran_ (oldie, but fits this chappy to a tee.)**

**Chapter 5 – On the Fifth Day…**

* * *

I woke up late the next morning. Burgundy rays of dawn had already started making an appearance across the dark sky when I'd finally been able to close my eyes. Rose wasn't in the room anymore so after a slow, hot shower, I threw on a pair of sweats and made my way downstairs, wondering how Bella would be today.

The kitchen was empty when I walked in, though I could clearly hear voices coming from somewhere. I crossed to the backyard windows and looked out at Charlie, Jasper, Alice and the girls building a snowman with the fresh snow that had fallen the night before. The dogs desperately growled and barked at the fat round figure constructed of three huge balls of snow. The sight made me chuckle despite myself.

"They're having fun, aren't they?"

I turned around and found Renee, looking a bit tired but smiling as brightly as ever.

"Yeah, they look like they're having a blast."

"It's been a snowy winter so far," she went on, moving closer and peeking out the window with me, "and they're sure taking advantage of it. Coffee?" she offered, moving to the coffee machine.

"I can get it, Renee, you don't have to-"

She chuckled heartily and went ahead and poured me a mug. "Oh, no, no, no! I refuse to be treated differently now! I've got it," she grinned up at me. I smiled sheepishly and thanked her when she handed me the steaming mug, settling down over one of the stools by the counter. Renee pulled out a stool and joined me.

"Would you like some breakfast, or some lunch?" she grinned teasingly.

I chuckled. "Just the coffee is more than fine right now, Renee. Thanks. How are you feeling?"

She shrugged, still smiling. "Honestly, a bit nauseous, but it's to be expected."

I nodded, unsure as to what else to say.

"Rose took a quick run into town for me a little while ago. I hope you don't mind that I sent her off before you were up."

"That's fine."

I took a burning sip of my coffee. It was dark and strong, the way I liked it. The thing was, I hadn't even thought to ask where Rose was. My mind was actually on the other sister, the one I'd dreamed of all night - cooking in the kitchen I wanted to build her, running in the yard behind the house we'd planned together, making love in our bed…before my eyes opened up and reality set in.

"Where's Bella today?" I asked casually, praying I was the only one who heard the shakiness in my voice.

"Bella's decided to stay with her friend Jake for a few days. She left a note this morning."

My grip tightened around the coffee mug.

"I…uh…" – I cleared my throat – "I thought she said the other night that she and Jake weren't a couple."

Renee laughed out loud. I attempted an airy grin.

"No, they're definitely not a couple, though I suppose to outsiders it would seem that way. They dated for a while, but they've been best friends for much longer. She goes to him when she's upset, when she needs a shoulder to lean on and vice versa."

I nodded and stared out the windows, at tiny Vicky sticking a carrot into the snowman's face. "I thought she was staying through New Year's."

"Oh, she won't be far," Renee chuckled. "Jake lives right down the road. She'll be in and out. I suppose…after what happened yesterday between her and Rose…she needed some space."

I took another blistering sip, burning the tip of my tongue and the base of my throat and not giving a shit.

She'd left.

Had it been Rose's words or mine that made her leave?

Or both?

Renee changed the subject. "Rose tells me you'll be staying with us a few more days?"

I nodded once more. "If that's okay?"

She grinned impishly, reminding me so much of Bella. "It's more than okay, Edward. We love having you. I just hope your family isn't too upset at having time with you cut short."

"I see them a few times throughout the year, so we should be okay."

Her grin grew. "Okay, then." She stared at me, cocking her head sideways. "Edward, I want to thank you…"

I assumed she was going to thank me for staying here with Rose, for being her comfort, her shoulder to lean on, which frankly would've made me feel like shit because I wasn't staying here for Rose. Rose had made it more than clear yesterday that she didn't need me to lean on, which was fine because I knew why I was really here. I could lie to the rest of the world, but I couldn't lie to myself. Yes, I'd grown fond of Rose's family, from her quiet, reticent father to her welcoming, heart-warming mother, and yes, I wanted to help in any way I could.

But I was here for Bella. I was here because I couldn't make myself leave even if she had rejected me, even if I _knew_ that what she'd said last night made total and complete sense. Rose was her sister, and she'd never forgive Bella. I had no fucking idea what I was doing or what my next step would be, but I couldn't walk away. Not if there was any chance at all that she _did_ need me.

"…for standing up for Bella yesterday."

I jerked my head back and almost choked on my coffee.

Renee smiled sheepishly. "My daughters have always had a somewhat…volatile relationship, Edward," she said carefully. "We try to mediate when things get out of hand, but it's not always easy."

"Why?"

"Because they're our daughters. Because we love them both and aren't supposed to take sides."

"But if one is clearly abusing the other, Renee, I'm sorry, but I think something should be said."

Renee sighed. "You're right, and perhaps we've let things go too far in an effort to be fair to both of them, but Bella has always been such an easygoing girl. I guess we were wrong to think that her carefree nature would always allow Rose's…comments to simply roll off her back. In the past, she's usually just laughed or yelled through it all. Rose's words have never brought her to tears."

I thought of the other night, the night I came down and found Bella crying alone on the porch.

"That you know of," I said.

"That I know of," she conceded quietly.

"Maybe with everything else going on, Renee, Bella just needs someone on _her_ side, there for _her_."

Renee cocked her head to the side again, studying me.

"Maybe she does," she murmured. "Edward…Rose isn't usually this way. I hope you know that."

I smiled reassuringly. Renee didn't need stress. "Don't worry, Renee, I know exactly what Rose is like."

OOOOOOOOOO

After coffee, I went outside and joined the rest in their snowman adventure. When snowballs started flying though, Charlie excused himself and went inside. Alice joined him, taking the girls with her when Jasper's and my snowballs grew so big and hard that we might as well have been on a war field hurling rockets at each other. All the while though, I wondered when Bella would finally come home, and after what had happened last night, how we'd react to one another.

But those concerns became secondary, at least for a while, when Alice slid open the back door.

Her expression was urgent. "Jazz, you gotta come in, hon."

Jasper dropped the missile he'd been about to fling my way and ran inside, running back out less than thirty seconds later, face white as a ghost.

"Ed, mom's not feeling well. Rose and dad are taking her to the hospital. I'm going to drop Alice and the girls off at home and then head over" – he paused in his steps, closing his eyes tightly – "Damn! Bella can't drive right now. I've gotta go get her from Jake's before I head for the hospital."

"Jasper, give me Jake's address. I'll go get Bella and meet you guys there."

He sighed. "You sure you don't mind?"

I nodded quickly and then Jasper gave me Jake's address as well as the keys to Bella's truck, and while they headed for the hospital, I headed down the road ending up at a smaller, ranch style house about ten minutes away.

The guy who opened the door was as tall as a fucking tree, dark-skinned with shiny, straight black hair that fell to his shoulders. And, oh yeah, he was built like a fucking wrestler on steroids.

His black eyes narrowed sharply while he took me in from top to bottom.

"Yeah?" he sneered.

"I'm here for Bella."

"Who the hell are you?" he snapped, crossing his arms across his chest.

"I'm Edward Masen, and I'm here for Bella," I repeated through clenched teeth because best friend or not, I already didn't like this asshole's possessiveness over her.

"Well, I don't know who you are, so unless-"

"Unless you want my fist in your face, you'll either go get Bella or move the fuck out of my way, so I can go get her myself. Her mother's not feeling well, and she-"

"Jake, who's there?" a sweet voice called out. I looked around the huge tree blocking my view and there she was, eyes rimmed in dark circles, in her red flannel top but with jeans on the bottom, and despite how undeniably tired she looked, still so beautiful I couldn't breathe for a few moments.

Her eyes grew wide when she saw me.

"Edward."

My lungs started up again, heart beating erratically. "Bella…" – I pushed past the fucker at the door, elbowing him purposely.

"Oof!"

"Edward, what are you doing here? What is it?" she asked, eyes apprehensive.

I reached out and took both her small hands in mine, so instinctively that I didn't even realize it until she gasped and looked down at them. And despite the context of the moment, that heat always there at our contact felt as potent as ever. I sucked in a shallow breath and squeezed her hands tight, bringing her eyes back up to mine.

"Bella, your mom's not feeling too well. They've taken her to the hospital" - one hand flew up to cover her mouth - "_just_ as a precaution," I said louder, wanting to reassure her.

She took a few deep breaths and then nodded. "Let's go."

I led her towards the door, hand still wrapped in mine.

Jake stared anxiously at her while she quickly stuck her feet inside the sneakers by the door, his eyes roaming between our joined hands.

"Bella, do you need me to come with you?" he asked, bringing his eyes up to me.

"No, she'll be fine," I snapped, answering for her.

"Jake, I'll talk to you later, okay?" Bella called out, distractedly heading out the door while I gave Jake one more hard glare on my own way out, just for good measure.

OOOOOOOOOO

She stared straight ahead in the car, eerily quiet except for occasional directions to the hospital.

"Hey," I said, giving her a quick sideways glance. "Your mom is going to be just fine."

She nodded vehemently, biting her lip, eyes straight ahead. "What were her symptoms?"

"Extreme nausea, vomiting, blurry vision."

She nodded again. "It's the fucking chemo. The dosage is probably too high. The initial dosage they assign is usually just an educated guess. They'll probably have to adjust it." She sighed loudly and dropped her head, fisting long hair in one hand and leaning over to rest her elbow on the window's rim.

Once more, I reached over and took her free hand in mine. She sat up straight, staring down at our hands but refusing to let hers fold into mine.

"_Bella_…" I breathed, soothing, pleading. I could feel her eyes on me, hesitancy mixed with need, and then slowly her hand relaxed and molded to my own perfectly, like a puzzle.

OOOOOOOOOO

When we arrived at the hospital, Bella ran straight to the elevators and pushed hard on the call button. I stopped quickly at the information booth to find out Renee's location.

"I've got her room number," I said when I caught up to Bella just as the elevator door opened.

Bella closed her eyes and dropped her shoulders. "God, I wouldn't even have known where to go."

I smiled at her softly. "It's okay. I've got you."

"Thanks, Edward,"

OOOOOOOOOO

Renee was already hooked up to an IV, lying quietly in a hospital bed with Charlie, Rose and Jasper surrounding her when we arrived.

"Mom," Bella sighed, going to give her a hug.

"Bella, honey, I'm fine," Renee soothed, wrapping her arms around her daughter. "Just a little nauseous."

"You've been throwing up?" Bella asked. Renee nodded.

"Blurred vision?" Again, Renee nodded.

"They probably need to adjust the chemo dosage," Bella confirmed.

Ever ready for it now, I looked over at Rosalie and sure enough, she was scowling Bella's way, her mouth open and ready to hurl poison. But she met my eyes first and the look I gave her shut her mouth back up really quick. Nostrils flaring, she looked just beyond me before dropping her head angrily.

I glanced over to my side and found Jasper glaring her way. He met my eyes and shook his head.

We waited around the room for the doctors to return. They'd already been in before Bella and I had arrived and had taken some blood and promised to be back as soon as possible. We joked around quietly, trying to keep Renee's spirits up, but it was she that told the best stories, that kept us laughing, that kept us all from going nuts in that small, cramped room even though her nausea was so bad by then that she had to keep her head back, eyes closed. I admired her, the way she refused to let this get the best of her and her family. She was obviously where Bella had gotten her fighting spirit.

The doctors finally returned and confirmed Bella's suspicions. The chemo dosage was too high and would have to be adjusted. They'd be keeping Renee for two or three nights, just to keep an eye on her and make sure this new dosage worked better.

The mood definitely lightened exponentially after that. One of the nurses came in and gave Renee something to stop the nausea, and after a few more jokes and lightheartedness on her part, she fell asleep, finally able to rest.

"Since mom's sleeping, why don't we all go get something to eat?" Jasper suggested.

Charlie shook his head, sitting on the bed next to his sleeping wife, gazing down at her.

"You guys go on ahead. I'm not hungry."

"Dad, you have to eat," Bella scolded gently. He didn't answer.

"Well, I'm starving. Why don't the rest of us go down to the cafeteria? We'll bring Dad something back," Jasper said.

Rose, shook her head. "You guys go. I'll stay with Mom and Dad."

I looked over at her. In the eyes of everyone in this room, I was Rose's boyfriend; her well-being basically my responsibility. "Rose, do you want me to bring you back something?"

She shrugged. "Just a sandwich would be fine."

I nodded.

Jasper, Bella and I made our way to the hospital cafeteria. We had cold turkey sandwiches because the rest of the choices were pretty gross. I picked up a couple of extra sandwiches for Charlie and Rose.

Bella picked at her sandwich while I watched her surreptitiously. She looked worn out, her eyes were rimmed in deep, dark circles; her naturally creamy complexion pale.

"You should eat," I said quietly. She looked up at me through long eyelashes before dropping her eyes back down.

"I'm okay."

"Edward's right, Bella," Jasper joined in. "You look like shit."

"Well…I didn't exactly put it that way," I grinned.

Bella chuckled. "Thanks a lot, both of you." She sighed. "It was a…long night."

"A long night, huh?" Jasper grinned, taking a huge bite of his own sandwich. "What exactly did Jake do to keep you up so late?" he teased.

The grin fell from my mouth. I looked away uncomfortably.

"Jake didn't keep me up, stupid," Bella retorted.

"Mm," Jasper kept teasing, apparently in a mood to rile little sister up. "You know, Bells, you're kind of old to be having sleepovers with your twenty-one year old male best friend. This might be where those rumors that you're stringing him along stem from."

I couldn't help turning my eyes back to her. She was sitting up stiffly, face flushed bright red.

"I don't string him along, Jasper, and you know it." Her eyes jumped to me almost imperceptibly before trailing back to her brother. "Jake and I are just friends. Don't you start with that too."

Jasper chuckled and reached out to ruffle her hair. "I was just teasing, Bell. Jeez, kid, lighten up. Hey, have you slept at all since you came home?"

She shrugged and dropped her elbows to the table, cradling her head in her hands. "I've had a lot on my mind."

Fuck, as if she didn't have enough on her shoulders right now, I'd made things so much more difficult. But Jesus, how could wanting to be here for her, to hold her, to be the one on _her_ side be so wrong?

"You gotta learn to turn that pretty head of dark hair _off_," Jasper kept teasing. He looked up at me. "She goes days without sleeping a wink when she's got shit on her mind; just like dad that way." He looked back down at her. "Look at me and Rose - we could sleep through an earthquake!"

She looked up at him and grinned wryly. "Yeah, I know you could."

He snickered and punched her playfully in the arm. She punched him right back – much harder. I snorted internally, watching them; thinking. While all Rose could do was slam on Bella, it was pretty obvious Jasper couldn't love his little sister more.

His teasing was working though; that sparkle in her eyes was returning.

With a crooked grin of my own, I raised a brow at her. "_I've_ got a question, Bella."

She turned to me questioningly.

"What exactly was that whole dog kennel business Rose was going on about yesterday?"

Jasper busted out laughing while Bella dropped her head guiltily, but an impish grin played on her lips.

"Do you want to tell him the story, or shall I?" Jasper asked once his chortles died down.

"I'll tell it, I'll tell it." Bella grinned my way, eyes sparkling the way I hadn't seen them do since early yesterday. She sighed heavily before starting. "Last year, I found out that my school was keeping a kennel of five dogs for a biology class they were teaching."

"Were they hurting the dogs?" I asked.

"Supposedly not," she said, pursing her lips doubtfully, "but why in the world would a school need to experiment with five, innocent, little dogs? So the night before spring break, Jake and I broke into the kennel and freed all those dogs."

"You didn't," I said through raised brows.

"Yes, I did," she grinned without apology. "Unfortunately, we got busted by security carrying out the last two dogs. They called our parents and…yeah, there was some trouble. Dad pulled some strings. They were really pissed off at me for a while..."

She looked down again, her expression unequivocally one of plain old guilt this time.

"Hey, Bells," Jasper called out. "When mom told me the story, she had to fight to keep a straight face."

She narrowed her eyes, silent for a few seconds. "Really?"

Jasper nodded.

She bit her lip thoughtfully.

"Were Romeo and Juliet part of that heist?" I asked.

Bella shook her head. "Romeo and Juliet were police dogs. They've been with us since they were on active duty and retired along with my dad."

My eyes popped open in newly acquired respect and awe for the two german shepherds.

"They've always been Bella's dogs, though," Jasper added. "Rose and I were already out of the house by then, and Bella's always been the crazy doggie lady anyway. She would've kept the dogs from the kennel too if mom and dad hadn't made her find a home for each of them."

"You wanted to keep the dogs from the kennel?"

She nodded emphatically, forehead wrinkled as if the question had been inane, but then her features relaxed and she grinned. "But mom and dad said there was no way in hell they were living with seven dogs."

"Seven dogs…" I murmured, whistling lowly.

"Seven dogs," she repeated, eyeing me while she took a sip from the reusable water bottle she'd bought because she refused to buy plastic water bottles.

Jasper snorted. "Whoever marries Bella better be ready for a house full of pets."

"Maybe I'll never get married. Maybe it'll just be me and my dogs," she said, picking at her barely touched sandwich.

"Really? When did you decide this?" Jasper grinned. "You've always talked about getting married and-"

Bella whipped her head up. "Jasper, please, just…_shut up_." They stared at each other for a few seconds, but then she dropped her head to her sandwich again.

Jasper drew in a deep breath and let it out, picking up the sandwiches and drinks we'd gotten for Charlie and Rose.

"I'm taking these back to Dad and Rose. Ed, do me a favor? Stay here with Bella and make sure she finishes that sandwich. I'll meet you guys back at Mom's room."

I nodded.

Bella and I locked eyes, holding each other's gaze.

"Eat."

She rolled her eyes and stuck the sandwich in her mouth, begrudgingly taking a small bite.

For a long while, we simply sat there while Bella slowly ate her sandwich, her eyes roaming all around the room, refusing to meet mine again.

"I had a dog once," I blurted.

Her eyes stopped roaming. She met my gaze and just like that, my chest expanded; my grin grew.

So did hers. "You had a dog?"

"Yup," I confirmed. "When I was a kid. He was a cocker spaniel and his name was Spike."

"Spike," she chuckled heartily. "Of course."

"Of course," I repeated with my own chuckle because she was giving me that mischievous grin again, and I'd do anything to keep that grin on her face.

"How do you name a cocker spaniel Spike?" she pushed on.

"It can be done," I confirmed with mock seriousness.

"So what happened to Spike?"

My grin faded. "He had heart problems and passed away in his sleep one night when I was fifteen."

Her doe eyes filled with empathy. "I'm sorry," she said quietly. "That must've been hard for you."

"It was for a while," I nodded, "but when you're a kid, you get over things quickly."

She nodded. "Did you ever get another dog?"

I shook my head. "I was…wary after that, I guess. And then I went off to college."

"And dogs weren't your priority anymore," she teased.

"No, I suppose they weren't," I smirked.

She chuckled.

"I think I'd be ready for another one now, though," I said, and then gazed into her big brown eyes. "Possibly even more than one."

We held each other's gaze.

OOOOOOOOOO

When we got back to Renee's room, Jasper was waiting outside on his cell phone, obviously talking with his wife. He saw us approach and said his good-byes, telling her he loved her and to kiss the girls.

He sighed. "Visiting hours are over in fifteen minutes. Dad's decided to stay with mom on the pull out," he looked over at me, "and Rose says she's staying too, on the fold out chair."

I nodded slowly.

"Come on," he jerked his head towards the door to Renee's room, "Let's go say bye."

When we walked into the room, Renee was looking much better than she had all day. Bella went straight to her mom and gave her a kiss. Rose, who'd been standing next to her mom, moved to the window, staring out into darkness.

I walked over to her. "Do you need me to hang around a bit longer?"

She shook her head and turned to look at me. "Can you just bring me some clothes and my toiletries bag in the morning?"

"Sure," I nodded.

"Thanks," she answered, and turned to the window again.

We said our goodbyes, all except Rose and Bella, and promised to return in the morning. While we walked through the hallways, Jasper turned to Bella with a raised brow.

"Rose isn't going to be home tonight, Bells, so I assume you _are_ going back home, aren't you?"

Bella rolled her eyes and nodded.

"Good girl," Jasper grinned, "You really don't want to give poor Jake the wrong idea. He'll never look for another girl if he thinks he's got any chance with you."

"Jasper…" Bella groaned.

"Hey, I'm just saying," he said, throwing up his hands. "You know, there might be a _tiny_ bit of good advice in what Rose was trying to say the other night, if she'd only said it right. You need some distance from that kid."

Bella looked straight ahead and didn't answer.

When we got outside, I drew in a deep breath of the fresh, night air, wondering what the hell I was still doing in this little town-why I simply couldn't get myself to leave.

But then I looked over at Bella. She had her face up to the sky - so much hidden sadness in her fathomless eyes.

I _couldn't_ leave.

Jasper was watching her too. "Get some rest, sis, okay?" He wrapped two hands around her head, squeezing her face together so hard it scrunched her cheeks and mouth up. "And turn your mind _off_."

I think Bella attempted to smirk through the hands compressing her face. When he let go, she frowned.

"Where are _you_ going?" she asked Jasper.

"I'm going home tonight."

"Why?"

He sighed. "Alice and the girls are there already, and the girls are all settled in. There's no point in getting them all up again. I'm only half an hour away, Bells. If anything comes up, I can be back here almost as quickly as you."

My heart raced in my chest as I realized exactly what that meant.

Jasper turned to me, blue eyes open and trusting. "Ed, you don't mind driving Bella back home do you?"

"No, of course not."

"Alright then, I'll see you both tomorrow." And he strode over to his own car.

OOOOOOOOOO

The ride home was silent. Bella stared out her window the entire way, watching the twinkling Christmas displays of light on almost every household.

When we arrived, she walked up the driveway without a backwards glance, opened the door, and walked in.

I stood in the foyer, fighting and yelling and cursing at myself.

"_Fuck, Edward, just go upstairs. Just go upstairs. It won't work. Just go _upstairs_."_

In the end, I shut my eyes tight, drew in a deep breath, and followed her sweet scent into the kitchen.

Bella was crouched over by the door to the back yard, where Romeo and Juliet were hungrily devouring their kibble and drinking their water.

"There you go, guys. Sorry momma was so late. There you go," she cooed quietly, stroking their backs as they ate.

I stood and watched her silently, but though she didn't look up, I knew she knew I was there.

"They have to go for a walk now," she murmured quietly once the dogs were done.

"Okay."

We walked through the silent back yard, through the wooded landscape that encroached on three sides - guided only by the light of the moon and the white snow cocooning the branches above us. Bella didn't seem to need their help though; she walked slowly, but with the confidence of someone who'd traversed this route countless times in her life, while Romeo and Juliet ran and jumped around us. There was no discomfort though, not on her part or on mine. It was as if in these woods, alone and surrounded by the nature she loved so much, we could finally let the carefully placed guards down.

"Have you ever gotten lost out here?" I asked, as she navigated us expertly around a bend of trees. Our hands touched occasionally as we went along, but this time, I didn't reach out to take hers because I knew that touching here, in this setting, would be something entirely different. It wouldn't be comfort, it would be pure need.

She snorted. I could see her smile in the moonlight. "I practically grew up out here, among these trees and bushes. These entire woods were my back yard. There were days I'd only go inside to sleep, and that's just cuz mom and dad would make me."

I chuckled. "Where I grew up, we only had a small back yard, and it was fenced in."

"Spike didn't have much room to roam around in, huh?" she asked.

I shook my head. "But then again, he was just a small cocker spaniel."

"Not like my two monsters," she chuckled, gazing at her two dogs lovingly.

"It would've been nice, I guess, to have all this room."

She was quiet for a while. "There's this meadow," she pointed in between a couple of trees just to our left, "right along that way, about ten minutes from here. It's beautiful; wide and open with the most beautiful wildflowers that grow in the spring. I take Romeo and Juliet up there sometimes."

"It sounds special."

"It is."

"I'd…like to see it, someday."

Silence.

"Maybe…when you build your house, Edward, you can build it somewhere where you'll have all the room you want, where your back yard hugs the woods and a meadow waits in the near distance."

I stopped and reached out for her hand. She sucked in a sharp breath as she whirled around, facing me, so close that her warm breath caressed my neck.

"I'd build that house anywhere, Bella. _Anywhere_."

Her chest heaved, heavy breaths fanning and touching me, eyes boring into mine. Then abruptly she turned, walking off swiftly. I fell in step with her.

"I'm sorry," I murmured. "I'm sorry for all this."

For a few moments, she said nothing.

"This isn't real, Edward." Her voice was cool and stoic. "You're judging Rosalie based on her relationship with me, when she really is a good person. She's smart, and she's…_so_ beautiful," she breathed, "and she's caring, and…"

I stopped her again, gripping her hand firmly in mine. "Bella, I _hate_ the way she treats you, but it's not just that. You know how you said it's just not there with you and Jake? It's the same with Rose and me."

"You were going to ask her to marry you."

It wasn't an accusation, or a question; just a simple statement of fact that I couldn't and wouldn't deny.

I swallowed thickly, inching closer to her again, gazing down, losing myself in those eyes, in the warmth that radiated off of her in the winter night.

"That was before I knew."

"Knew what?" she questioned quickly. "This isn't real, Edward. This _can't_ be real."

I reached out and caressed her cheek with my hand, reveling in the way her eyes closed, in the way she shuddered at my touch, in the proof that despite everything, I affected her as much as she did me.

"Bella, it can't get any more real."

She dropped her head and shook it slowly from side to side.

"And I'm sorry," I went on, "because I don't want to make your relationship with Rosalie any more difficult. I'm sorry because I know you and your family have enough going on right now, but Bella, I _can't_ make myself walk away."

She looked up at me again, eyes the color of the sky searching mine.

"I have _tried_…" – I looked up at the sky – "at least half a dozen times since last night to make myself leave, to convince myself that you're right and that I need to pack my shit up and get the hell out of here - out of your life before I complicate it any more."

I looked down at her again. Her pouty bottom lip trembled, eyes brimming with unshed tears. I wrapped my hands around her face while she exhaled shakily through narrowed lips.

"But I see the pain you try to hide from everyone else, Bella, and I _need_ to be here. _I_ need to be the one you lean on, the one you open up to. The one you tell the truth about how much _she_ makes you hurt, about how goddamned _terrified_ you really are about your mom."

She started crying, tears glistening down her cheek, falling on my hand.

"How do you know?" she sobbed. "How do you _know_?"

I rubbed circles around her jaw with my thumbs, ghosting over her bottom lip. "You _know_ how I know," I smiled. "You _know_ it, Bella."

Her eyes suddenly lit up with fire, and she pushed my hands off of her.

"No, Edward! No!" she yelled, and then broke into a sprint. Romeo and Juliet followed obediently at her heels, and I ran after her too, heart beating so wildly I was sure it would pop out of my chest.

"Bella!"

But she wouldn't stop. Instead, she ran faster.

"Bella!"

I caught up to her inside the kitchen and wrapped my arms around her waist from behind. She fought to free herself, but I held on, because I simply couldn't let go. And then finally, her struggling stopped and her legs gave out as she sank into my arms, sobbing uncontrollably.

"I can't. We can't. You're hers, Edward. You're _hers_."

It was an impossible situation; I knew it. And while I'd do my best to do right by her, by this entire family, I needed her. It was as out of my hands as the cool winter sky; I _couldn't_ let go.

"Shh," I soothed, turning her around in my arms and once more wrapping my hands around her face, forcing her to hold my gaze.

"Bella, I'll fix this; I swear," I breathed fiercely. "I'll do whatever I have to do to make this right, to do this as right as possible, but please," I pleaded, "_please_…let me hold you. Let me be here for you."

She held my gaze, brown eyes consuming me, and then brought me back to life when her arms wrapped around my neck, when her lips grazed my jaw. I drew in a deep breath and held her tight.

"Just let me be here for you," I whispered in her ear. "Please."

Her nod was so faint that at first I wasn't sure she'd actually done so, but when I picked her up and held her against me, she didn't resist. Her head rested against my quickly beating heart while I carried her upstairs. Only when I stood in the middle of her room, with soft yellow walls and dark wood furniture, did she finally look up at me again.

Her brown eyes locked on mine.

"Just let me hold you," I whispered.

She nodded slowly again. I walked her to her bed and lay her down carefully, barely able to breathe at the beautiful sight before me; soft eyes gazing, dark hair splayed against the white pillow. I sat down at the edge of the bed and removed her sneakers one by one while she watched me. Then I bent down and removed my own.

For a long while, we simply held each other's gaze; thoughts and promises communicated without words.

So when Bella turned over on her side, snaking one hand under her pillow, I lowered myself down behind her and pulled her body against mine.

"Edward…" she murmured.

"Shh." I wrapped my arms around her, lacing my fingers together the way our hearts would always be, no matter what. "Rest. Sleep. I'm here for you, okay?"

She nodded once more and her body relaxed, molding itself to mine.

Perfect.

Like a puzzle.

And only when the soft sounds of her breathing assured me that she'd finally found _her_ rest did I allow myself to breathe again.

* * *

**A/N: Closer…**

**Thoughts?**

**See you tomorrow!**

**Twitter: PattyRosa817**


	6. Chapter 6 - On the Sixth Day

**A/N: So many questions…so much speculation…**

**Read on, my lovelies, read on…**

**All characters belong to S. Meyer. I'm just putting them through a semi-typical family holiday…**

**Michelle Renker Rhodes, as usual, worked her Christmas magic here.**

**Chapter 6 – On the Sixth Day…**

* * *

The next morning I awoke to winter sunlight streaming in through closed blinds, to light blue curtains muting harsh rays; to an opaque glow bathing the room in warmth.

I woke up to Bella.

To doe eyes gazing at me through long lashes, body lying sideways, head resting on pillow.

"Exactly what color would you say your hair is?" she whispered softly.

I drew in a deep breath and exhaled, grinning and digging my hands under my pillow, the way she had hers. "My driver's license says light brown."

Her eyes moved up to my hair, absorbing each and every strand; scanning carefully.

"I'd call it more of a…bronze."

"I don't think 'bronze' is an option on driver's license applications."

She chuckled, eyeing my hair speculatively. Her hand twitched under her pillow and for a second it looked as if it might actually come out, but the twitching stopped; the hand stilled.

"No, I don't think I recall bronze being an option."

Her eyes trailed down slowly, meeting mine. The circles that had been rimming them appeared fainter this morning.

"I have my father's hair, like you have yours," I murmured.

She nodded. The hand twitched again. "Where did the green eyes come from?"

"That would be my mom, and her mom."

She nodded once more. "Does your brother have bronze hair and green eyes too?"

I shook my head, grinning wider at her curiosity about such simple facts. "Emmett has dark brown hair, like our mom, and blue eyes, like our dad."

Once again, she nodded slowly. "Opposites."

"I suppose in some things." I shrugged, enjoying our mundane conversation, as if the real world weren't waiting just outside this soft yellow room. "But in lots of things, we're very much alike."

She smiled. "Like what?"

"Like, we both love sports, though Em prefers basketball and I prefer hockey."

"I hate hockey," she smirked.

I chuckled, burying my head into my pillow for three seconds. It smelled sweet and pure, like her.

"That's okay." I gazed at her thoughtfully while at the same time searching my memory for more facts for her. "We're both tall, though Em's a couple of inches taller." I reached up and tapped my chin. "And we both have this cleft, though his is more pronounced."

Her eyes moved down to the cleft, hand twitching away.

"He's got a bit of a sick since of humor," I said, making Bella laugh, "but he's a cool guy. He's built differently, a lot more brawny than I am."

"I think you're…" – she swallowed – "built just fine."

I grinned while her cheeks reddened. "Thank you."

"Sure," she smirked again. "Anyway, green eyes are rare, you know. In a couple with both blue and green eyes, their child will almost always be blue-eyed."

I nodded at that bit of information. "And in a couple with brown and green eyes?"

She gazed at me, blinking slowly. "Probably brown."

My face split in two. I reached out with one hand and gently ghosted two fingers across her eyes, first one, then the other; back and forth. Her eyes slowly fluttered, long eyelashes dancing.

"I love your brown eyes."

She smiled, eyes closed. "Brown is the most common eye color in the world."

"Not yours," I murmured with a shake of the head. "Yours are different. Open them."

Gradually, she opened her eyes back up and let me search them; open and trusting,

"Your eyes are speckled with green…and yellow…and even gold…and they're…so warm. The shade changes depending on what you're feeling."

She held my gaze quietly.

"Did you sleep well?" I asked.

A deep sigh.

A small smile.

"Yes. I did."

"I did too."

My fingers made the circuit across her smooth face, across her jaw line, around her eyes once more, down her cheeks, over her lips…she closed her eyes again…

"Edward…" she breathed, "what are we going to do?"

"Bella, I can't pretend this doesn't exist."

I waited, chest heaving while her eyes remained closed, while she held my heart in her hands.

She drew in a deep breath and exhaled, sweetness and warmth washing over me, and opened her eyes.

"I can't pretend either."

I let out a long gust of air.

"But I can't hurt my sister, or my family, Edward. Not right now. I can't allow myself to touch you…the way I want to touch you, the way I _know_ you want me to touch you…" She dropped her gaze. "I don't know how to handle this."

My heart clenched at her words, but fuck, of course I understood. It was why, in a few short days, she'd become everything; because she cared so damned much – about trees, about her family, about dogs, about chemicals in plastic bottles. And despite how Rose treated her, she would never, ever deceive her; not this way.

I reached up and pulled out the hand she'd buried under her pillow to keep it from wandering, lacing our fingers together and bringing our hands between us. I could see her breathing sped up; almost feel her heart racing against her chest. Slowly, with her eyes on mine, I brought our hands up to my lips and kissed her hand.

"Does this feel wrong?"

She shook her head.

"To me neither. It's not wrong, Bella. It's just going to take a little work to make everyone understand. But Bella, we can handle this any way you want. If you want to tell Rose and your family now, we'll do it now. If you want to wait a few months, until your mom is better, until Rose has had enough time to realize that she and I would've never worked out despite you and me, then we'll do it that way. Either way, she and I are over, Bella. I'm going to end things with her as soon as we're back in New York."

For a long while, Bella searched my eyes, holding me locked in her gaze. When her fingers reached out and softly circled my lips, I kissed them gently too.

"I want to wait," she whispered. "I _need_ to wait."

I tried to suppress my disappointment, to hide the way my heart sank because what I wanted, what I needed was to crush her against me, to feel her lips on mine, to feel her warm body bare and in my arms.

But I'd wait. For her, I'd wait as long as it took to do this right.

I nodded, kissing the tips of her fingers once more. "So what do we do now?"

"Now," she sighed, "we get up and go to the hospital. We go on. And when the holidays are over, I go back to my life, and you go back to yours."

"Can I see you? Can I at least talk to you?"

Her brown eyes held me intently. "In a few months, if you still feel the same-"

I wrapped both of my hands around hers and gripped tightly. "Listen to me. I will _always_ feel the same."

She smiled. "When my mom's better then, we'll talk to Rose. I'll come down to New York, and then you can come back home with me - if you want," she qualified carefully, "and we'll tell my family."

"Of course I'll come back with you," I said roughly. "Do you really think I'd let you do this alone? Bella, I'll go along with this, but please, tell me we can at least talk during these next few months. Tell me I can at least hear your voice."

She bit her lip, gazing at me. "I'd like that."

And God, I wanted to kiss her right then. I wanted to take that bottom lip that always pouted when she was deep in thought and finally taste it, finally feel its softness, bury my tongue in her mouth and savor her warmth. And the way she looked at me, the way her eyes kept dropping to my mouth before finding my eyes again, I knew she wanted it too.

But she'd never forgive herself if we gave in right now, and I'd never forgive myself for that.

OOOOOOOOOO

I left Bella in her room so that she could shower and change, and went to Rose's room to take my own shower. Yes, we'd agreed to wait, and yes, I understood why it was necessary, but I couldn't help fantasizing about the day when I'd finally be able to truly call her mine, truly make her mine in _every_ way…and that got me thinking about how we were alone in this house right now, how she was in the shower, naked and warm, how easy it would be to go back to her room…

I dropped my head and leaned up against the shower wall, groaning quietly.

I'd promised to do things right; I _needed_ to do things right by her so that someday when we looked back on this, we could say that despite the messed up situation, we'd handled things the best we could. Bella deserved that.

And no matter what, so did Rose.

OOOOOOOOOO

After grabbing a backpack I found in her room and filing it with a set of clothing for Rosalie and the toiletries bag I found in the bathroom, I headed downstairs.

Bella was on the phone in the kitchen, standing over the stove and apparently making eggs.

"Alright then, meet you there in about an hour. Give the girlies a kiss from me. See ya."

She looked up at me and grinned, that sweet, carefree grin that had become so damn familiar to me in a few short days.

"That was Jasper. He and Alice and the girls'll meet us at the hospital."

I nodded. "You want help, here?" I jerked my head toward the stove.

"I've got the eggs. Make toast?"

I smirked. "You and your mom keep giving me the easy jobs."

She snickered, turning back to move the eggs around before they stuck to the pan.

"That's because Jasper and my dad can barely find the kitchen and my mom finds it hard to believe that you actually _enjoy_ being in one."

I walked up behind her, only meaning to peek down at what she was preparing, but she smelled so damned good, and her creamy neck looked so soft and tempting that I leaned into her and then had to fight the overwhelming urge to put my mouth on her, to wrap my arms around her waist and pull her back and against me.

"Someday, Bella," I whispered in her ear, "we're going to recreate this scene. You'll cook for me and I'll cook for you, but not in this kitchen. It'll be in a kitchen that _you_ picked out, that _you_ designed. And we won't have to deny ourselves _anything_…"

Her arm froze over the pan, body vibrating right under me, heat seeping between us. For what felt like ages I stared at her creamy neck, wanting to lower my mouth to it so badly my entire body ached with need.

But I pulled back. Her shoulders rose and fell. And then slowly, her scrambling resumed.

"I'll make toast," I murmured.

"Yes. Toast," she agreed shakily.

OOOOOOOOOO

We ate breakfast, talking and laughing and joking. No, things weren't completely resolved yet, but there was light at the end of the tunnel; we could envision a time when our interactions wouldn't have to be hidden or limited, when we could truly show each other how we felt without holding back. There was an airiness; a light-heartedness that hadn't been there twenty-four hours ago.

When Romeo and Juliet finished their morning kibble they came and stood sentry around the counter, staring up at us through huge, sad eyes.

"Oh no, guys," Bella laughed. "Don't give me those puppy-dog eyes. I'm not falling for that today."

I grinned and watched as she rolled her eyes and tore off a piece of bread for each dog, and then first Juliet followed by Romeo came to claim their pieces.

"I fall for it every day," she laughed.

"How do they know which one goes first?"

"Easy," Bella shrugged, cutting off a couple more squares. "Romeo _always_ looks out for Juliet. She's his girl, even if he can't actually verbalize it."

I grinned at Bella. She looked down at her plate and grinned at her eggs.

OOOOOOOOO

We climbed into the truck, on our way to the hospital. We'd taken Romeo and Juliet for a morning stroll after breakfast, and then I'd thrown Rosalie's bag in the back and Bella had thrown another one back there too.

"What's in the bag?" I asked as I started up the engine.

"Overnight stuff for me. I want to stay with my mom tonight."

I nodded.

When we arrived at the hospital, Jasper, Alice and the girls were just arriving. We walked to Renee's room together while Alice reminded the girls that they had to be quiet and calm because we were in a hospital.

"Is nanny going to be okay?" Charlotte asked in her four-year old little voice.

Bella picked her up, carrying her the rest of the way while Vicki gripped her other hand.

"Girls, nanny is going to be just fine," she assured them. "She's got a boo boo, but the doctors are going to make her all better. You'll see."

Charlotte grinned widely and wrapped her arms around Bella's neck while Vicki beamed up at her. I watched them with a grin while Jasper opened the door for everyone. I held the door for Alice, who'd been trailing behind. She watched me softly, murmuring a slow "thanks, Edward," before walking through.

OOOOOOOOOO

We spent a pretty pleasant morning visiting with Renee. She was in even better spirits than she'd been last evening now that they'd adjusted the chemo. Her appetite had even returned. Charlie joked about how he'd had to run to the cafeteria twice already for her, even though she'd inhaled her entire breakfast this morning.

"Hospital food doesn't count," Renee complained jokingly. "It's nothing but seasoned cardboard."

Charlie smirked, but the way his dark eyes took his wife in made his relief obvious.

"That's great, mom," Bella breathed happily.

As for me, I was glad Renee was feeling better, but it was Bella's huge and genuine smiles that cheered me, that reminded me that this moment here, with Renee in the hospital and with Bella and I pretending there were no feelings between us, wouldn't last. We'd get through this mess. Renee would get better. We'd tell everyone. There might be hard feelings and confusion at first, but there was a lot of love in this room despite the hardships. We'd all come out of it okay.

I kept telling myself that.

OOOOOOOOOO

In the afternoon, we all went to the cafeteria for lunch. Well, all except Charlie. He asked us to bring him something back, and honestly I understood him. The family was fun; Jasper and his jokes, Alice added to everything Jasper said, the girls were pure sweetness. Rose tended to Renee's comfort while Bella smoothed her hair out of her eyes, told her funny stories. I ran any necessary errands; went to find a nurse when needed because Jasper joked they'd come for me quicker than for anyone else, I figured out how to work the TV for Renee, brought back snacks and drinks. And all the while, Rose and I circled around each other like two people who no longer knew how to be in each other's company.

When evening came, Bella quietly approached Rose, who was watering the flowers we'd all brought Renee at some point or another during the past couple of days.

"Rose," I heard her say gently while I pretended to listen to what Jasper was saying, "I'm going to stay with mom tonight, so that you can go home and rest."

Rose kept watering the flowers, not sparing Bella a glance. "That's fine. But if mom has to stay again tomorrow night, I'm staying with her. I've got to fly back to New York to take care of some things after the holidays, but I've already warned them I'm going to be taking some time off at the end of the month. In the meantime, I want to spend as much time with mom as possible. You live a lot closer and get to see her more often."

"Alright, Rose," Bella conceded. "I don't have to be back in school until the second week of January, so you just let me know what works best for you, okay?"

Rose nodded, refusing to look up even after Bella walked away.

My hands fisted at my sides.

OOOOOOOOO

That night, it was Rose and I alone in Bella's pick-up. The silence was uncomfortable, but in a completely different way than the silence during me and Bella's drive home yesterday.

Bella had asked me to feed Romeo and Juliet when we got home, and to let them out into the back yard. She said they'd find their way back home when they were ready. So I fed the dogs, but then decided to take them for a walk instead of just letting them out.

I walked into the family room, where Rose was making a few phone calls back to New York, and caught her in between calls.

"Rose, I'm going to take the dogs out."

I drew in a deep breath and sighed, suddenly overwhelmed by guilt though I knew I'd had no other choice; my heart hadn't had a choice. Despite it all, Rose was Bella's sister and that would always be the case. I didn't want us to end up as enemies.

"You want to come along?"

She stopped dialing and looked up, staring at me as if she weren't sure who I was anymore.

"Thanks, but I've got a couple of more calls to make, and then I'm heading up for a shower."

"Alright," I nodded and walked back into the kitchen.

OOOOOOOOOO

I stayed up and watched TV for a while, and then gauging that enough time had passed and Rose should've been off to slumber land, I made my way upstairs. My eyes glanced longingly at the closed door to Bella's bedroom, at the room where I'd enjoyed my best night of sleep in a while. But for Bella's sake, I _had_ to keep walking. I had to-

Rose was sitting up on the edge of the bed, wearing a red silk robe that barely reached her thighs, only loosely tied in the front.

She grinned; a slow, seductive grin I recognized. "I was getting ready to come down and get you."

I stood by the door; hand still on the knob, cursing my life.

"Are you coming in or what?" she breathed huskily.

"Rose…"

"_Yes?" _

An image of she and I just a week ago - back in her apartment while she moaned under me - invaded my mind.

But then another image pushed that one quickly away. Soft, doe eyes; an impish grin, a warm touch, the promise of so much more.

"Rose," I exhaled heavily, "we've barely said two sentences to each other in the past few days."

"We can talk afterwards," she simpered, getting up and walking slowly towards me. Her robe shifted, breasts popping through. I swallowed and kept my eyes firmly on hers. "We can talk when we're back in New York, like you said the other night."

I shook my head, gripping tightly to the knob still in my hand. "What's the point in waiting, Rose, when we both know this isn't working?"

She kept walking, and for a second I thought I was going to have to run out the door like a scared little girl again, but then abruptly she paused in her steps, cocking her head to the side and studying me the way she had earlier.

She snorted and dropped her head. "God, I don't even know where it went wrong. We were fine when we got here just a few days ago."

"Were we? Were we really?" I waited for her to look up. "What have we really had these past few months, Rose, other than good companionship and good sex?"

"Isn't that enough?" she smirked, but despite everything, I could tell that she got it.

She drew in a deep breath and sighed, and out of my periphery I saw her adjust her robe and tie it properly. She turned and walked away towards the dresser.

"I always knew you'd want more someday, Edward. And honestly, I hoped that when that day came, I'd be ready to give it to you. But these past few days, since I found out about my mom, I've realized how short and…unexpected life can really be. I don't want to _force_ myself into something I'm not ready for."

"You shouldn't." I swallowed thickly and let go of the doorknob, taking a hesitant step into the room.

No, I wouldn't tell her about Bella and I just yet, because Bella wanted to wait until Renee was better. But I'd lay down the foundation. I had an opportunity now to let Rose know that she and I would have never worked out in the long run, whether her sister had come into the picture or not. Because that was something that Rose _had_ to accept when the day came to tell her about Bella and me.

"Rose, what I want is someone who knows me and understands me as well as I do her, someone who'll never feel like she had to reorganize her life and priorities around mine. I don't even know if New York is where I belong," I said, throwing my hands up, "and I know how much you love the city…"

She snorted and then was silent for a long while before turning around and meeting my gaze.

"You're a good guy, Edward. I wish I could tell you to wait until I'm ready, until I'm sure about what I want..."

She trailed off; watching me, waiting; for what, I wasn't entirely sure, but I held her gaze steadily.

She sighed and ran a hand through her long hair. "You don't have to hang around, you know."

"I know I don't have to, but your family's become important to me."

No matter what, that was the truth.

"I'm…going to sleep on the couch for the next few nights."

She cocked her head sideways, shaking it. "You don't have to do that either, Edward. We're two grown, consenting adults. I think we can handle this without letting it get confusing."

I shook my head. "No, Rose. Good night. I'll see you in the morning, alright?"

She stared at me. "Good night, Edward."

And then I turned around and closed the door behind me, exhaling through narrowed lips because I was a free man now.

Free for _her_.

* * *

**A/N: Thoughts?**

**Twitter: PattyRosa817**

**See you tomorrow…**


	7. Chapter 7 - On the Seventh Day

**A/N: Yes, yes, I know. It should've been 'sense' of humor, not 'since' of humor in the previous chapter. This is what happens when I try to write while helping my daughter with her homework, and when I add a quick line AFTER the chapter has been beta'd by my beta chickie. Oh well. Sorry.**

**Anyway, here we go.**

**All characters belong to S. Meyer.**

**Beta'd by my chickie Michelle Renker Rhodes.**

**Chapter 7 – On the Seventh Day…**

* * *

I woke up to a warm tongue on my face, to hot breath on my cheek.

And another tongue licking my hand.

When I opened my eyes, Romeo and Juliet were giving me their morning greetings.

I snorted and shook my head. "What a week," I muttered, turning over on the couch so that the dogs couldn't reach me. But I could hear them panting behind me. When I turned over again, they were sitting calmly side by side, staring up at me; waiting patiently.

I smirked at them, though mostly at Romeo because in the past few days I'd come to realize that he was the leader. I sat up over the couch, running a hand through my hair.

"So are you guys hungry or do you need to pee?"

I received heavy panting and rapid wagging tongues.

"That doesn't tell me much." With a sigh, I got up and followed them into the kitchen, where Romeo proceeded to scratch at the back door, answering my previous inquiry.

"Alright, alright," I chuckled. "Let me just throw on my jacket and we'll take a walk."

The morning was grey today, looking more like rain than snow. Romeo and Juliet ran through the woods, circling each other and occasionally stopping to wait for me. My knowledge of this area was nowhere near that of Bella's and they seemed to know that. I laughed out loud when they kicked up snow with their back paws, throwing it in each other's face. By the time we reached the house again, they were soaked from head to tail, sated and content – and ready for grub.

Rose was in the kitchen when we went inside - fully dressed, thank hell - standing by the coffee maker.

"Morning," I called out.

"Morning," she answered with her back to me.

I filled up the dogs' bowls with kibble and carried their water bowls to the sink.

"Really into those dogs, aren't you?" she muttered.

When I looked up, she still had her back to me, sipping from a mug.

"They need someone to walk'em and feed'em."

She turned around and leaned against the counter, staring at me, supporting her elbow in one hand while she took another sip from the mug of coffee in the other.

"They can walk themselves, you know. You just have to let them out and in."

"I know. But I enjoy the fresh air and I think they enjoy the company."

She continued staring at me for a few more moments before turning her back to me again.

"Dogs are as spoiled as she is," she muttered low under her breath. "There's more coffee in the pot. You can help yourself in the kitchen if you want since apparently you're a great cook. I'll be in the living room when you're ready to leave for the hospital."

And with that she walked out.

OOOOOOOOOO

Rose stared out of her window for the entire ride to the hospital. We said absolutely not one word to each other. It was, by far, the most uncomfortable car ride yet.

When we arrived, we walked through the hallways silently. A few feet from Renee's door, Rose stopped and put a hand on my forearm.

"Do me a favor," she said coolly, "let's not say anything about" – she waved a hand between us – "you and I not being…together anymore to my family just yet. They really like you and I think my mom especially will be heartbroken." She rolled her eyes.

"Sure, Rose," I agreed.

She sighed and gave my arm a squeeze. "Thanks, Edward. For still being here even though you don't really need to be."

I swallowed and held her gaze. Despite everything, I felt a stab of guilt again. But then I reminded myself that had she been a different type of sister, all this secrecy wouldn't have been necessary. Yes, it would've still been hard for everyone involved, but it was her senseless animosity towards Bella that compounded the entire situation. Neither Bella nor I had planned this. It had all been out of all our hands since day one.

We studied each other, both lost in our own thoughts, when the door to Renee's room opened and out walked Bella.

She startled. Her eyes flashed quickly to where Rose gripped my arm before heading back up.

"Good morning, guys." She forced a smile. "I…" - she held up a mustard-colored pitcher – "was just going to get some fresh water for mom."

"Good morning, Bella," I smiled back.

Rose's hand dropped away as she turned to face Bella. "How's she doing this morning?" There was no response to the morning greeting she'd gotten.

Bella's small smiled widened, complimented by a note of genuineness. "She's doing well. The doctors decided they're going to keep her one more night, though, just to be on the safe side."

"Alright," Rose nodded. "I'm staying with her tonight." There was no room for discussion in her tone.

"Okay," Bella agreed.

Rose looked over at me and jerked her head towards the door.

"I'll…just go get the water," Bella murmured and walked off, and despite how much suddenly _I_ wanted water too, I accompanied Rose inside.

Fuck, I hated this.

OOOOOOOOOO

Renee greeted me with a tight hug and a warm smile. "Edward."

"How are you feeling, Renee?"

"I feel just fine," she said adamantly. "But you know how these doctors are."

"It's for your own good, mom," Rose said.

"I know, I know," Renee sighed. "At least I received a nice beauty treatment this morning," she grinned, looking so young all of a sudden. "Bella did my hair," she waved her hair around, "and my nails," she fluttered her hands to show us.

I chuckled, and just then, Bella walked back in.

And Jasper opened his mouth.

"Rose, Edward, what took you two so long? Enjoying that empty house I see, huh?" he snickered.

And though I knew he had no idea, though I knew to him it was just playful banter meant to make everyone in the room laugh, I wanted to bash his face in.

Instead, I kept my eyes on Renee as I responded.

"I took the dogs for a walk."

"That must've been some long-ass walk," he ribbed on.

Renee smiled, eyes firmly on mine.

Charlie snorted.

Rose simply rolled her own eyes, not giving her brother a response one way or the other.

Bella served her mother a cup of water, eyes cast down.

Jasper kept going. "Tell me something, guys, how cold does it get-"

"Jasper, honey," Alice called out, "come here and show me how to put in the wi-fi password on this laptop again."

"Al, babe, I showed you that already," Jasper grinned patiently at his wife.

"Well, I forgot. Show me again," Alice insisted.

And while Jasper walked her way, his wife looked up and met my eyes quickly, and as ridiculous as it was, I could've sworn the small smile she gave me spoke volumes.

OOOOOOOOOO

After lunch, I excused myself to call my parents, whom I hadn't spoken with in a couple of days. After speaking to them both, Emmett got on the line.

"Hey, bro! How are things going up in the boondocks?"

"They're…going," I replied vaguely.

"I hear your girl's mom isn't doing too well," he said more solemnly.

"No, but she's expected to make a full recovery. She's a tough lady."

"Sounds like mom," he snorted. "Hey, you okay? You sound a bit…out of it."

I sighed, eyes unfocused while I stared off into the hospital parking lot. It backed into woods and more woods.

There were a lot of woods around here.

"Talk to me, bro," Emmett insisted, always having had an uncanny way of reading me, even over phone lines.

"It's complicated."

"Complicated situations are my specialty," he stated with a grin in his voice. "I'm all ears."

It was true, I supposed. As a psychologist, he probably listened to all sorts of crazy shit all day.

"It's hard to explain."

"Just spit it out, Ed. You know that's the only way to roll."

I exhaled loudly. "I don't want to talk about this over the phone, Emmett."

We were both silent for a moment.

"Edward, do you want me to come up? It's kind of late in the day, but I could probably catch a flight-"

"No, Em. Thanks for offering though. You stay with mom and dad. I don't want them alone during the holidays. I'll be along in a couple of days and we can talk then."

"You sure?"

I blew out another large gust of air through my nostrils. "Yeah, I'm sure. But don't judge, man."

Emmett snorted. "Ed, if I judged, I'd probably have people flinging themselves out of windows once they left my office, and that would _so_ not be good for business," he joked.

See? Sick sense of humor. But under different circumstances, yeah, I would've laughed.

"Shit, what, did you kill someone up there or something?"

"You're a good brother, you know?"

"_What_?" he cried, obviously befuddled by my response.

"It's just…in the past few days I've realized that not all siblings look out for each other the way they should."

"Dude, I know it's Christmas, but you're freaking me out here with the heart to heart," he chuckled.

I rolled my eyes. "Alright, alright," I growled. "Just forget the whole thing for now."

He chuckled again. That was Emmett. Always chuckling. But then I heard him draw in a deep breath.

"Dude, whatever it is, just remember that unless you _have_ killed someone, _everything_ works itself out in the end. _Every_ tunnel has an exit. Got it?"

Another deep breath. "Yeah," I smiled, picturing Bella's sparkling doe eyes, her impish grin. "I've got it."

OOOOOOOOOO

After dinner, I took Renee's pitcher and went to refill it. The nurses tended to hook me up with their own private stash of cool, bottled spring water, while everyone else who went to refill the pitcher would be sent back with the lukewarm faucet water that the staff had simply placed in a large container in the patient kitchen – sorely in need of ice and a filter.

When I walked back into Renee's room, Alice and Bella were missing. There was a palpable change in the air.

"…You two can't keep doing this. It gets worse and worse every year," Jasper was hissing quietly Rose's way, while she stood by the windows, staring out stiffly into the parking lot.

"What happened?" I asked.

Jasper turned around and looked at me, shaking his head, expression stony.

"I'll be right back," he muttered, walking quickly out of the room.

Blood boiled in my veins.

I scanned the scene before me. Besides Rose, who still stared out the window at the fading sun, Charlie stared down at his lap, the same way Bella tended to do when she was upset, Renee was playing with her granddaughters, who sat on her bed surrounding her, dolls scattered all about and oblivious to the tension in the air.

"Nanny, brush this one's hair now."

"Okay," Renee agreed, but she looked up, her eyes meeting mine, and sighed.

I glared at Rose's back, and opened my mouth.

"Edward, can you please do me a favor and go find them for me?" Renee said, eyes pleading with me.

With a deep breath, I relented. "Sure."

OOOOOOOOOO

I found the three of them over in a quiet corner off of the elevators. Bella's head was down, shoulders rising and falling while Alice faced her, arms waving wildly.

"…ridiculous already! You need to tell her to fuck off once and for all!"

Bella shook her head. "I _can't_. I have to think of my mom."

"She's right, Alice," Jasper agreed.

Alice turned glaring eyes towards her husband. "_She_ doesn't think of your mom! She talks so much bullshit yet she's the one that causes all the stress with the way she constantly picks on Bella, year after year!" she riled. "You know, I know it's not my place to say anything because this is something that as siblings the three of you have to resolve, but-"

"What's going on?" I asked, bringing all their eyes up to me, but mine were firmly on Bella. She held my gaze for a split second before resting her body up against the Emergency Exit door and throwing her head back to stare at the ceiling.

Jasper didn't answer me, either.

Alice looked from one to the other, and then stormed over to me. "What's going on is that Rosalie has always been so fucking…_envious_ of Bella that she can't even see straight anymore!"

"Alice," Bella breathed, eyes still on the ceiling.

Alice turned back to her. "She's got loads of beauty and brains but no fucking sense whatsoever! She's turned a childhood fear into an excuse to torture you and torture you to the point of ridiculousness!"

"Alice," Jasper warned.

"No, Jasper!" Alice hissed, refusing to be quieted. "Look, you know I love and respect your parents with all my heart, but this should've been nipped in the bud years ago and I don't blame them completely because god knows it's hard to be a parent and always do right by your kids, but Rosalie's a grown fucking woman now! It's time someone makes her take some responsibility and put a stop to this shit already! Bella, _you_ have to-"

"Alice, no," Bella cut her off. She sighed and brought her eyes down to Alice, smiling sadly. "Not now. I have to think of my family."

Alice's small shoulders slumped. She took a couple of steps towards Bella. Slowly, she reached out and ran her hand through a few strands of Bella's hair.

"I love you like a little sister, you know that, right?" Alice murmured, her tone devoid of all the anger from a few seconds ago.

Bella nodded, her bottom lip trembling.

"Come here." Alice pulled her into a tight embrace. "I'll always be here for you, okay?"

Bella's head bobbed up and down, eyes closed. After a moment, she pulled away. "I'm going back in now."

Alice nodded. When Bella walked away, Jasper went with her.

With a deep breath, Alice turned around and met my eyes. She walked towards me slowly, studying me.

"So did you recognize it for what it was right away?"

It only took me a split second to understand what she meant.

I sighed, a strange sense of relief, of comradery coursed through me. "No, not right away." I offered her a small grin. "I think sometime the next day."

She grinned back. "Yeah. You looked sort of…confused that first night after she got home. But then the next day, after you came back from ice fishing…"

For a few moments, I didn't say anything.

"Does Jasper know?" I asked.

"Are you fucking crazy? Look, I'm not going to sugar-coat it for you. The shit's gonna hit the fan. I mean, the drama between James, Jasper and I was nothing compared to what this is gonna be like."

"Thanks," I smirked.

She laughed softly. "Edward, Bella told me that you guys have decided to wait a while before saying anything, and believe me, I understand your reasoning. Bella always thinks of everyone else's needs first, and that's great, it really and truly is, but no matter how long you wait, whether you come out with this now or in a few months, chances are Rose will hit the roof. Any acceptance, whether now or down the line, will have to start with Rose herself."

I ran a hand through my hair, knowing that what Alice said was true, there was nothing _we_ could do to make Rose understand, Rose had to be willing to do so.

"She'll never purposely hurt Rose, no matter how much Rose hurts her," I said through gritted teeth.

Alice reached out and put a comforting hand on my arm.

"And that's what makes her Bella. I need you to do something for me, Edward. Help her understand that sometimes it's _okay_, even _necessary_ to put your needs first. I'd probably be unhappily married to James right now and Jasper would be a whoring player if we hadn't figured that out quickly," she grinned.

"Thanks, Alice."

"Sure." She squeezed my arm. "Just take care of my girl."

OOOOOOOOOO

Later that night, after Bella and I and Alice and Jasper and the girls left the hospital, Bella and I took Romeo and Juliet for another walk through the woods. When the trees were in front and behind us, and the faint glow of the Christmas lights on the back porch were no longer visible, I reached out and took Bella's hand. Slowly, her fingers folded into mine, the proximity of her body warmed me.

"Do you want to tell me what happened between you and Rose today?"

She grinned emptily. "What always happens between Rose and me."

I sighed and raked my free hand down my face. "Bella, I honestly don't know how much longer I'll be able to stop myself from saying something to her."

Bella stopped and turned to face me. "Don't, Edward. Please." She moved in closer, fisting my jacket between her fingers and rolling it aimlessly between her thumbs. "I appreciate the sentiment, I really do," she smiled grimly, "but first of all, I'm a big girl. Second, how would it look if Rose's boyfriend turned around and defended _me_?"

"I'm not Rose's boyfriend."

She raised a brow. "Officially, you are."

I shook my head. "No, I'm not."

She looked up at me, brown eyes sparkling. The cold from the winter night made our breaths swirl around us, mixing and melding together.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, we broke up. Rose and I. Last night."

She held my gaze, shaking her head. "But…she didn't say anything."

"She didn't want your parents to know yet."

She continued staring at me. I moved in closer and she craned her neck, locking me in her gaze.

"I wanted to tell you earlier, Bella," I said quickly, "but we haven't had a chance to talk. And I know you didn't want me to say anything yet, but I couldn't keep pretending – not when I feel for you the way I do. And I swear I didn't tell her about us. We can still do things the way you-"

She reached up and wrapped her arms around me. Instinctively, I reached down and gripped her hips, pulling her up and flush against me, reveling in the feel of her body so close to mine.

"Edward…" She held me tighter and the entire world warmed up.

"Yes, love," I murmured in her ear. "I'm sorry about what Jasper said this morning, but I hope you know that nothing could've been further from the truth."

She shook her head from side to side, her lips grazing my neck. "I didn't think…Edward…I shouldn't be as happy as I am right now."

Her words vibrated against my chest. I kissed the top of her scalp, inhaling the sweet scent that emanated off her. "I like knowing you're happy," I murmured.

She looked up at me then, doe eyes radiant. A slow grin inched across her creamy face.

She unwrapped her arms from around my neck and let her feet touch the snowy ground, and with a stronger, firmer grip than before, her hand reached out for mine. For a long while, we simply stood there, gazing at each other wordlessly.

Romeo and Juliet circled us, anxious to continue their walk.

"We're coming guys," I groaned jokingly. "We're coming."

Bella chuckled and hand in hand, we continued our walk.

OOOOOOOOOO

"Jeez, it's cold tonight!" Bella exclaimed as we flew back into the kitchen and swiftly closed the door behind us. Romeo and Juliet strolled to the middle of the room and proceeded to shake themselves off from snout to tail. A few flakes had started falling just as we'd started our walk and had grown progressively thicker and heavier as we went along. Now it was seriously coming down.

Bella and I removed our coats and sweaters, opting for the simple tank tops we both wore underneath, since it was pretty warm in the house. Her dark hair was once again covered in a white halo, the way it'd been a few nights ago when she'd popped into my life like a roaring blizzard.

She started shaking her hair off and I walked over, transfixed by the sight the way I'd been that first night. When I gently helped her pat the snowflakes out of her hair, she looked up at me, grinning, cheeks rosy.

I ran two fingers across one cheek, over her nose and across the other cheek. "You look like a winter fairy."

"More like a Christmas elf."

I smirked.

She chuckled. "Get it?" she asked with a raised brow. "Cuz I'm so short, and it's the Christmas season, and elves are short."

"Petite."

"Short," she chuckled heartily.

We gazed at each other.

She sighed. "Hot chocolate?"

"Sounds good. Want me to make it?"

"I know where everything is. You can make breakfast in the morning. Deal?"

"Deal," I chuckled, shaking my head.

While Bella prepared our hot chocolate, I stared out the window at the continuously whitening landscape. The bare branches and full shrubs that had just this morning begun to recover their color were once again being bathed in a white glow. A squirrel quickly made its way up a tree, carrying it's dinner. It was a quaint sight, at least to me, coming from New York. I turned around to mention it to Bella.

She'd been so close that I startled her and with one mug full of hot chocolate in each hand, she jumped, spilling half of the contents of each mug all around her. Like two bolts, Romeo and Juliet shot over, licking up the spilled drinks.

"Romeo! Juliet! No!" Bella cried. "Chocolate will make you sick!"

She tried to move quickly, but the floor was wet with hot chocolate and melted snow and she started losing her balance. Her eyes met mine, full of horror.

I took the one stride to her as fast as possible, but she was already going down, still trying to balance the mugs in each hand. The best I was able to do was grab her waist and land under her, cushioning her fall.

Mugs and hot chocolate went flying everywhere, including all over us.

"Oomph!"

For a few moments, we simply stared at each other, wide-eyed.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

She looked down and around her and met my eyes again, fighting to keep a straight face.

"Are you?"

We both burst out laughing.

"What a mess!" she cried, looking all around us again, scowling at Romeo and Juliet, who were doing their best to clean up the mess with their tongues. "Guys!" She dropped her shoulders and shook her head in defeat. "It's not gonna be a fun walk tomorrow morning."

I threw my head back, laying flat against the floor and staring up at the ceiling and laughing uncontrollably. It was only a few seconds after that, once the initial fear that Bella would hurt herself had passed, that I felt her.

She'd landed on my lap, and as she twisted and turned, looking all about her, I _felt_ her.

Abruptly frozen stiff, I moved my eyes to her, head still flat on the floor. She'd apparently noticed where she'd landed at about the same time I had. Her big brown eyes gazed at me, all traces of humor gone.

Slowly, I sat up.

For one endless moment, we just sat there, while outside the snow continued to fall and inside hot chocolate covered everything.

Bella reached out slowly and wiped off a spot on my cheek. "You got some there."

My heart raced. Blood flowed to every extremity. My eyes fell to her mouth, where just at the edge she had her own stain of errant hot chocolate.

I lifted my hand and slowly moved it towards the stray drop.

"And you've got one…"

I don't know if I pulled her in, or if she came to me, but as soon as our mouths met my hands snaked around her hips and her arms did the same around my neck, and I tasted the sweetest, most delicious lips to have ever been created.

"Bella…" I breathed against her mouth, sucking on her sugary lips while she did the same to mine. Her hands fisted my hair and I groaned.

"Jesus, Bella…"

"Edward…"

When I pushed my tongue into her mouth she opened up with no resistance, meeting mine with her own. She whimpered and the sound made me want to pull her in closer, but she was sitting over me sideways, so without breaking our kiss Bella lifted herself up and straddled one leg over each of my thighs, and then quickly lowered herself down again.

I groaned.

My hands were in her hair, feeling the silkiness I'd been dying to savor for days that now felt like lifetimes. She moved her hips back and forth over me. I gripped her hips tighter.

"Edward…"

My mouth trailed frenzied kisses down her jaw, across her neck, biting, sucking, indulging in every taste, in every sensation, in the sounds her mouth made.

"_Edward_…"

I gripped both sides of her face and brought her eyes to mine. Her face was flushed and so god damned perfect and beautiful.

"Bella, I don't want to do anything you're not ready for. I'll wait," I said quickly, before I changed my mind. "Just say the word and I'll wait for as long as-"

She put two fingers over my mouth.

"Shh." Her eyes trailed from my eyes to my lips. "Edward, I…don't want to have sex."

Despite my inner need to do things right by her, I couldn't entirely suppress my disappointment.

"I mean, I do," she said quickly, "but not yet. Not under my parents' roof while my mom is in the hospital."

I nodded and kissed her mouth softly. "I understand." Because I did. My cock was about to explode, but I understood.

She smiled impishly, as if she could read my mind. "I know we should wait to tell everyone, and I know that as hard as it'll be, the right thing is for me to let you go for a while, until things with my family settle down, but Edward," she sighed, holding my gaze firmly, "before I have to do that, just give me one night where we can pretend that only you and I exist in the world. Give me one night where what we feel doesn't hurt anyone."

I swallowed against the lump in my throat. "I'll give you anything, Bella. Anything you want."

She stood up and held out her hand to me. And when I took it she guided me out of the kitchen, through the family room, and up the stairs. I tilted her face up when we stood in the middle of her room, her expression suddenly unsure and wary.

"_You're_ in charge here, okay?"

She nodded sheepishly, and when we kissed I felt her warm hands tugging up my shirt and raised my arms up to help her. She ran her hands down my chest, kissing me softly while my heart hammered, warm and full inside while the cool snow blanketed the earth outside. When she guided my hands to the hem of her shirt I pulled it up slowly, letting her change her mind yet praying she wouldn't.

She didn't.

Eyes on mine, she backed up and reached behind her, and her pink bra fell to the floor.

She bit her lip, eyeing me tentatively.

"Beautiful," I murmured, unaware that I'd even spoken until a relieved little smile graced her face.

She came to me and reached up, wrapping her arms around my neck, pressing herself into me.

I cupped her face and bent down to kiss her, tongues and teeth meeting and retreating. She kissed down my chest, wet little kisses, soft sucking. I threw my head back and groaned.

I met her mouth again and walked her backwards to the bed, a question in my eyes.

She nodded and I gripped her hips, guiding her to the middle, climbing over her slowly, worshipping her body with my eyes before lowering my mouth to her breasts, circling my tongue around her nipples. Soft. Pink. She cried out softly, playing with my hair.

She parted her legs, still clad in chocolate wet jeans, and I dropped down between them, moving in ways that made us both gasp, both moan. We kissed and we touched and we moved against each other, but the pants stayed on. And when she came, her eyes stayed on me and I told her I loved her more than anything in this world. Because it was true.

"I love you too."

Everything would be okay. I felt in my soul.

And when she drifted off to sleep, under her covers and spooned into my side, I nuzzled her neck and whispered my love for her again.

* * *

**A/N: Whew! Close!**

**Thoughts?**

**Don't know if I'll be able to update over the weekend, guys. The Pattyrosa house gets hectic! But I'll definitely see you all on Monday (barring any natural disasters and such).**


	8. Chapter 8 - On the Eighth Day

**Hope everyone had a great weekend. **

**There have been lots of comments/opinions on whether what Edward and Bella are doing is right or wrong, whether Rose deserves this or not. I'll withhold my own opinion for now, but just want to remind everyone that in real life, we are ALL flawed. **

**All characters belong to S. Meyer.**

**Beta'd by my chickie, Michelle Renker Rhodes.**

**Ch. 8 – On the Eighth Day…**

* * *

My senses slowly awoke to a delicious warmth that radiated throughout my entire body. It was still dark, yet it only took a second to pinpoint the source of the sultry fire:

Bella.

We lay tangled - arms wrapped around each other, legs crisscrossed together. The crown of her head rested against my bare chest. Her warm breasts pressed up against my ribs. Lips softly ghosted over my heart; sleepy breaths quietly whistled in and out.

I brought her in closer and drifted off.

OOOOOOOOOO

I awoke again - to movement.

She was undoing her pants, sliding them down her legs.

"Sticky," she murmured, eyes closed. I drew in a ragged breath. My hands smoothed up and down her sides, tracing her spine, the perfect curve of her lower back…

"Do you need help finding your pajamas?"

"I don't wear pajamas," she murmured, more asleep than awake - and settled her head over my chest once more, kissing my heart.

No pajamas to bed.

Someday soon, I was going to be a very happy man.

OOOOOOOOOO

When I awoke once more, dim light seeped through the windows. It was a silver-grey dawn, the kind that came after a snow-filled night, coating the entire landscape in ivory so thick even the sunlight was white.

At some point throughout the night, Bella had turned over. She now lay spooned into me; our hands laced together over her smooth stomach; every curve of her body connected to mine.

Perfect. Like a puzzle –

- until I looked up.

Jasper stood by Bella's door, nostrils flaring; eyes dark and furiously bewildered.

He met my gaze and jerked his head sharply towards the door, walking away stiffly.

I unraveled Bella's and my fingers carefully and lay flat over the bed, staring up at the ceiling, taking five seconds to draw in slow, steady breaths, making sure I didn't wake her. Then I got up and retrieved my t-shirt from the floor, quietly making my way out.

Romeo and Juliet weren't waiting by the steps this morning. Instead, they were outside playing in what looked like almost a foot of snow, a mess of paws kicking up white mounds. I saw them through the kitchen window when I walked in. Jasper stood by the sink, head down, hands gripping the edge.

I stopped a few inches from him. He heard my footsteps, but kept his back to me. For a long while, there was no sound except for that of his heavy breaths.

"I told myself that I had to be imagining the way you looked at her," he said, voice hoarse and shaking. "That though I've only known you for a few days, I'm a good judge of character, and you wouldn't do something like this. You wouldn't take advantage of the _trust_," he hissed violently, "that this family has placed in you."

He paused. I shoved a hand through my hair, trying to unscramble my thoughts and words into something that would make sense to Bella's older brother. With a low and guttural growl, he went on.

"The only reason I haven't turned around and snapped your neck yet is because I don't want to leave my wife to raise our daughters alone while I spend the next twenty to life in jail, but at the same time, I'm thinking of all the ways I can get out of this. I can say you attacked Bella or that you went crazy and attacked me. Besides, my dad's a well-respected ex-cop with connections all over the Clallam County system. So Ed, think carefully and give me a reason why I shouldn't kill you right now."

"I love her."

"Then how can you do this to her?" he growled, slamming his hands down. "How can you do this with her own sister while she's-"

"No, Jasper. I love _Bella_."

For a few moments, he went completely still. Then his shoulders rose and fell in long, heavy breaths.

"Regardless of the issues between them," he gritted slow and cool, "they're _sisters_, and you're about to tear them apart."

"Do you think I meant for this to happen?" I hissed, banging a fist against my chest. "I didn't come here planning on this, planning to fall in love with her, but it was out of my hands, out of _both_ our hands the moment she stepped into this house!"

Jasper shook his head, speaking over me. "No. You could've stopped it! You _should've_ stayed away from-"

I gripped my hair. "I fell in love with her the moment I saw her!"

Jasper stopped.

"You've felt it, Jasper. You told me yourself. You _know_ what I'm talking about. It's what you felt for Alice the first time-"

"Don't fucking compare this to me and Alice! Al wasn't my girlfriend's little sister!"

I closed my eyes and exhaled through my nostrils.

"Would that have changed things?" I murmured, opening my eyes again. "Would you have been able to walk away from her because you'd once made the wrong decision about whom to date before her?"

Jasper shook his head. "Don't try to justify this, Edward. Don't try to make it okay by-"

"I'm _not_ trying to justify it! Do you really think that I don't see how hard this is going to be - for everyone involved? How _no one_ will understand?" I said pointedly, unable to fully suppress my disappointment because yeah, I'd hoped Jasper would've understood.

"I can't justify it, but I won't be ashamed of it either," I said unflinchingly. "I love her, and I know you love her too. Even if you can't accept this, I'm begging you not to turn away from her. She loves and respects you, Jasper, and you've always been there for her."

Jasper was silent. For a few long moments, we both stood there, him staring down at the sink, me with my eyes focused out the window, at the dogs unaware of what was going on in here.

Jasper turned around and met my gaze, expression cold and stoic.

"I can't condone this. I can't…condone the…_hell_ that this is going to cause. You _know_ how Rose is with Bella, Edward. _This_…" he stressed, jabbing a finger down, "…she will never forgive her for this."

"Rose and I broke up a couple of nights ago. We didn't say anything because she didn't want to upset your parents right now."

He snorted and shook his head. "Do you really think that's going to make any difference once she finds out? Do you think she's going to _thank you_ for breaking up with her before you slept with her sister?"

"Bella and I haven't slept together, Jasper. Not that way."

For the first time all morning, his features seemed to relax. He exhaled in apparent relief.

"No," he said, eyes firmly on mine, "I guess Bella wouldn't do that."

"No, she wouldn't. She has too much respect for her family."

"At least someone does."

"I respect your family, Jasper. I _care_ about your family."

He eyed me speculatively before his features hardened again. "If that's true, then you'll put an end to this, Edward. Rosalie will hate Bella, and if you know Bella half as much as you think you do, then you know that she won't be able to live with that. If you're any sort of man, you won't completely destroy the relationship between two sisters. You'll go upstairs and gather your shit together and-"

"No."

We both turned towards the soft - yet determined voice.

Bella stood there, wrapped in a long, blue robe, holding it tightly around her.

"No," she repeated, shaking her head. Her eyes met mine. "No, Edward."

I shook my head. No, I wasn't going anywhere. She and I would deal with this together.

She exhaled.

Jasper stalked to her quickly, eyes flashing with anger. I was between them in an instant.

His nostrils flared. "Jesus Christ, get out of my way, Edward. She's my little sister, and no matter how pissed off I am I would never, _ever_ hurt her."

Bella smiled softly at me, laying a warm hand on my arm. "It's okay, Edward."

We sized each other up, chests heaving, and with a warning glare, I stepped away. Eyes glowering, Jasper turned his attention back to Bella and gripped her shoulders firmly - but not hard.

"Isabella," – his voice softened – "Bells, what are you doing?"

"I love him," she shrugged with a bittersweet smile. She stretched her hand out, searching for mine. I met it with no hesitance, lacing our fingers. "We love each other."

Jasper sighed, dropping his head. "Jesus Christ."

"Jasper, the last thing I want is to hurt Rose, but I can't pretend this doesn't exist."

"Bella-"

"I know it's going to be hard, Jasper. Do you really think I don't know that? But he's everything to me."

"Bella, you just met him a week ago," Jasper pleaded. "How can you know-"

"You knew, didn't you?" she smiled, eyes glassy. "You knew Alice was everything the moment you saw her. Nothing else mattered to you at that moment did it? Yes, I _know_ this is different; I _know_ this will be even harder, but I _love_ him, Jasper. _I love him_. If anyone can understand that, it has to be you."

"Bella, honey, you're barely twenty-one," Jasper persisted, running a hand down the length of her hair. "You're too young to know what-"

Bella snorted and shook her head. "Jasper, I may be young, and I may be _idealistic_ as Rose calls it, but I know my heart. I've always known my heart, and you know that. Besides, I'm older than you were when you met Alice."

Jasper smirked. "Stop comparing this to me and Alice." But his voice had lost much of its furious edge; he sounded more resigned and overwhelmed than angry.

"You know Rose won't ever…" he trailed off, gazing at her sadly.

"Maybe someday…" Bella countered.

Jasper simply stared at her.

"Jasper, I would never expect you to take sides between your sisters, but please don't turn your back on Bella. If you don't want to see me after this, I understand, but-"

Jasper kept his eyes on Bella. "You're my baby sister. I'll never turn my back on you."

I saw the way Bella's bottom lip trembled. "Thanks, big bro."

They held each other's gaze, and then Jasper sighed and stepped back. "I came by to see if you wanted a ride to the hospital this morning, since it snowed so much last night and I know what a piece of shit that truck of yours can be in deep snow, but…" – he raised a brow and waved a hand our way – "you two need to get yourselves…together." He looked around the kitchen, at the mess we'd made last night with the hot chocolate and had never gotten around to cleaning up. "And this kitchen looks like shit. Mom'll be home in a few hours. Make sure this place is cleaned up."

He stalked off.

OOOOOOOOOO

Bella went back to her room to shower and change, and I went to Rosalie's and took my own shower. Afterwards, we met downstairs and straightened up the house. Bella was quiet as we worked. She dried off the last of the dishes and I approached her from behind, gently putting my hands on her hips.

"Hey."

She turned her head sideways and gave me a small smile.

I dropped my head to her neck. "I'm sorry, Bella - about all this."

She put the plate she'd been drying down and turned to me, cupping my face in her hands.

"Don't. Don't apologize. You asked me a couple of nights ago if this felt wrong, and I told you it didn't. So don't apologize unless _you_ feel it's wrong."

I gripped her hips tightly while her eyes bored into mine. "Listen to me. I will _never_ think that this is wrong. Okay?"

She nodded slowly. "Okay."

"I'm with you, every step of the way, alright?"

"Alright."

I lowered my mouth to hers and kissed her softly, and she responded in the same open way she had last night. I longed for the day when we wouldn't have to stop, when I could make love to her without apology.

I pulled back before we got carried away.

OOOOOOOOOO

Charlie and Renee and all the rest arrived about an hour later. Renee looked pretty good, though understandably tired of being in a hospital for three days. She complained about being poked and prodded every couple of hours, but her attitude was pretty upbeat. Bella looked thrilled to see her mother out of the hospital and in such high spirits.

Rose seemed more calm and agreeable this morning too. We all sat down for a brunch that Bella and I had prepared, and Rose complimented me on the pancakes, and even threw a couple of words of praise on the waffles Bella's way.

Bella beamed at her sister's few words of recognition.

"Thanks, Rose." There was so much quiet love, so much desperation for approval in those two words it made my chest ache.

Rose, Bella, Alice and Renee cleaned up in the kitchen while the rest of us hung out in the family room, watching Charlotte and Victoria play pony with the willing dogs. Always anxious now, I kept an ear open for any negativity coming from the kitchen. All seemed okay though. A couple of times, I even heard laughter. If any good could come out of Renee's sickness, I hoped it would be that it would lead to Bella and Rose finding a way past their problems; mending their relationship enough so that once Renee was better and Bella and I were ready to announce our relationship, Rose would somehow understand.

Still, as soon as the thought crossed my mind, I snorted internally at the unlikelihood of that outcome.

Afternoon turned to evening. We talked about my upcoming departure the following day. It would be New Year's Eve. My family was expecting me. Besides, I'd run out of excuses to stay.

"Edward, you'll come back and visit us again soon, won't you?" Renee asked.

Out of my periphery, I could see Jasper and Rose and Bella all doing separate though similar inspections o f the walls.

"I'll do my best, Renee. Thank you - for everything."

She smiled kindly. "Thank you."

Charlie cleared his throat. "Yes, son - thanks for all your help around here over the last few days."

Another god damned stab of guilt. I shook my head. "You have nothing to thank me for, Charlie. Really."

An uncomfortable silence filled the room.

Jasper stood up. "Well, I guess we should get going."

Alice nodded. "Girls, let's get our coats on and say goodbye to everyone."

Alice gave me a big hug, surprisingly strong considering she was even tinier than Bella.

"Take care, Edward," she murmured into my ear. "Everything will work out, alright? Everything has a solution."

She sounded like Emmett with his tunnels full of exits. I pulled back and smiled gratefully at her. "Thanks, Alice. Take care of yourself." I ruffled each of the girls' heads. They smiled up brilliantly at me, waving sweet goodbyes.

I was surprised, though inwardly grateful, when Jasper reached out to shake my hand. He gave me a rueful look.

"I'm stopping by tomorrow to check in on mom, but…in case I don't see you, take care, man. And have a good trip."

"Thanks."

"And…" – he shoved a hand through his hair – "I guess I sort of get it."

"Thanks."

Out of the corner of one eye, I saw his wife grin softly his way.

He smirked and shook his head.

OOOOOOOOOO

With Jasper, Alice and the girls gone, the atmosphere in the room changed. Charlotte and Vicky had kept every moment busy and alive with their constant playing and questions, as had Alice with her giggles and Jasper with his gruff jokes – though there hadn't been too many of those tonight.

Now we watched a TV special on the top stories of the year and sat around speaking occasionally while Bella played on the floor with Romeo and Juliet. After about an hour, Renee stood up.

"Well, I've had enough of Barbara Walters," she chuckled. "Good night, everyone." She turned her eyes to me. "Edward, I'll be up early to make you the best darn going-away breakfast you've ever had."

"Please, Renee, you don't have to do that."

"Of course I do," she contradicted - and went upstairs.

With Renee gone, the tension magnified.

"I'm going to walk the dogs," Bella announced, stepping out of the room with Romeo and Juliet at her tail.

I tried not to react to her words, not to look her way, to keep my eyes trained on the TV. After about ten minutes, Charlie announced he was retiring for the night too and wearily climbed up the stairs.

Rose and me's eyes remained glued to the TV.

"So…your family knows you'll be home tomorrow?" Rose asked.

I nodded. "I spoke to my brother earlier today and let him know my flight info."

She nodded slowly, biting her lip. "Emmett, right?"

"Yeah, Emmett."

"Strange…" she snorted after a while. "Just a few days ago, we were planning on how I'd be coming back with you to meet him and your parents."

"It's been…a long week."

"Yeah, it has."

"Rose, no matter what, I'd like us to remain…on friendly terms."

"Does it matter? How often do you think we'll bump into each other once we're back in New York? It's not like we had many mutual friends."

I could feel her eyes on me and when I turned to look at her she was watching me with an unreadable expression.

"Though I suppose it's better to remain friends than not," she shrugged.

I wanted to say more. To apologize and tell her I'd never imagined this just over a week ago; that despite her relationship with her sister, she was a good woman and would find someone. I wanted to beg her not to be a bitch to Bella anymore. To tell her that her sister loved her more than she could imagine and craved her love in return. I wanted to tell her that despite all that, if she ever made Bella cry again, she'd have me to deal with.

Instead, I simply nodded.

We turned to the TV once more. My fingers tapped an uneven rhythm over my knee. I glanced at the clock on the wall. Bella had been gone with the dogs for about twenty minutes now.

"Well," Rose got up, "I'm going up to bed. See you in the morning, okay?"

"Alright, Rose," I nodded. "Good night."

She stared at me. "Good night, Edward."

OOOOOOOOOO

I kept my eyes on the TV for a few more minutes, but they kept trailing to the clock. The minutes kept passing - five, ten - and Bella still hadn't returned. I walked to the window, sticking my hands in my pockets and staring out at the black and white night. My heart beat anxiously. My eyes searched through the trees leading into the woods. I looked back up at the clock.

She'd been gone for over half an hour.

I threw on my coat and strode to the kitchen, stepping out quietly.

It wasn't as cold as it'd been the night before, but the thick snow made it hard to walk. Thankfully, it also provided for accurate footprints and paw prints, which I followed through a somewhat winding course until I came to the two trees Bella had pointed out a few nights ago.

A few minutes later, I emerged at a large clearing, blanketed in almost pristine snow - except for where Romeo and Juliet ran and left their large paw prints. Bella sat on the stump of a tree and watched them from a few feet away. The moonlight illuminated the entire meadow in a soft glow. Bella's head snapped up, and she cocked it to the side, grinning at me curiously. I took the few steps to her and she stood up just as I wrapped my arms around her and picked her up off the floor and against me.

"Edward…" she breathed, warm breath feathering against my neck. "What are you doing here?"

I kissed the crown of her cold head. "I was looking for you. You had me worried."

She pulled away and grinned wryly, dark eyes sparkling in the moonlight. "Why would you be worried? You know I walk the dogs every night."

"But you've been gone for almost an hour now."

"Has it been that long?" she smiled.

"Yes."

She dropped her hands to mine, signaling for me to put her down. I complied. She eyed the ground between us carefully.

"I hadn't realized I'd been gone that long. I guess I got lost in thought."

I lifted her chin up to meet my gaze. "What were you lost in thought about?"

"About you, about us, about Rose, about my mom, about school, about New York, about Seattle, and about how much I'm going to miss you when you leave tomorrow, and about how I can't even say good-bye to you the way I'd want to."

I pulled her close to me again, interlacing my fingers behind the small of her back. She placed her hands gently on my forearms - gazing up.

"Soon Bella, we won't have to say good-bye anymore."

"There's still so much we haven't discussed. We live on opposite sides of the country, Edward. How are we-"

"Shh, we'll work it out." I trailed my lips all around her face as I spoke, kissing her softly. She closed her eyes. "I know you're attached to Washington, Bella. I know you've already taken your entrance exams for vet school, and I know you love these woods" - I looked around at the meadow she'd told me about and could easily see its beauty even on this dark, winter night - "and in the past few days I've come to appreciate them. Bella, _I'm_ not that attached to New York. I've wanted to start my own agency, and I've heard that Seattle has a great architectural base. I'd need a few months, maybe a year, to settle things down in New York and to explore all my options on this coast-"

She opened her eyes and wrapped a gloved hand around my cheek, craning her neck up to me. "Edward, it's not fair for you to make all the sacrifices."

"Bella, believe me, I _wish_ I was the one making all the sacrifices here."

She looked down between us.

"And it's not a sacrifice," I assured her. "I swear to you, it's not."

I lifted her off the ground once more, wrapping her in my arms while she held on tight to my neck.

"I know you're going to be busy between school and being here for your mom, but I'm going to call you every day, okay?" She nodded, lips grazing my ear. "And when you're ready for me to come for you, you just have to say the word, Bella, and I'll be here."

"Okay."

"And Bella, I need to ask one thing of you." I pulled away so that I could meet her gaze once more.

"No more sleepovers at Jake's. If you need someone to lean on, you've got me now. I'll be on the next plane out whenever you want me. I understand he's been your friend for years, but I need you to understand that I'm not comfortable with you sleeping there because from the little I did see of him, Rose and Jasper were right about at least one thing: he needs to let go. Do you understand?"

She nodded carefully, eyes wide. "Yes, Edward. I understand, and I promise no more sleepovers."

I sighed, grinning.

"I wish…"- she looked up at me through long lashes - "…I wish we would've made love last night."

I closed my eyes and exhaled through narrowed lips.

"No, you don't, love."

She frowned and bit her lip, looking down.

"Hey," I said, waiting for her eyes to lift again. "As much as I would've loved making love with you last night," I breathed, "you would've regretted it, and I couldn't have lived with that."

Brown, trusting orbs searched mine. "How do you know me so well in such a short period of time?"

"Because it was no accident that we met, Bella. The situation itself may have been kind of," – half of my mouth lifted up in a wry grin – "fucked up," I snorted, "but we were always going to meet. We were _always_ going to fall in love."

She brought her mouth to mine and sucked softly on my lips before opening up for my tongue. It wrapped itself around hers, swirling in the heat of her mouth. We kissed for an immeasurable amount of time, and when we both came up for air, we were panting.

"Bella, the next time we're alone, I'm going to make love to you all night long. I'm going to touch and kiss every part of your beautiful body and make you mine in every possible way. There'll be no guilt. No regrets."

She closed her eyes and breathed out heavily, cheeks flushed. Her chest heaved and for a few seconds, she remained perfectly still. When she opened her eyes again, that impish sparkle was back in her eyes.

"I guess we should get back now, huh?" she questioned begrudgingly.

I grinned. "Yeah, I guess we should."

OOOOOOOOOO

A few yards from the house, still hidden by the large, thick trees, we stopped.

"Alright, you go in first, Bella. I'll wait a few minutes and then go in."

"You sure you won't get lost?" she grinned impishly.

I smirked. "I'm getting pretty damn good here at finding my way around these woods."

She gave me a doubtful look. "Yeah, I'm sure the footprints in the snow have nothing to do with it."

We chuckled quietly. I pulled her in for one last moment in my arms.

She wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me passionately, sucking on my lips with urgency.

"I love you," she panted, disentangling herself, pulling away. "I love you, Edward," she grinned.

"I love you, too, Bella," I grinned back. "Now go!" I urged. She walked backwards for a few feet, smiling at me, and then turned and walked away, Romeo and Juliet beside her.

OOOOOOOOOO

I waited for about fifteen minutes. When I did approach the house, I went around the back yard and into the front, taking a few minutes to draw in deep breaths, staring at the twinkling white Christmas lights trimming the house, wondering when would be the next time, if ever, that I'd be welcomed here.

Lost in thoughts and plans for the future, I opened the front door and was met by Rose, sitting on the bottom step of the stairs.

She held my gaze, expression cool and steady. I schooled my own features into blankness.

"Where were you?" she asked evenly.

"I went for a walk."

She nodded.

"Where to?"

I shrugged. "Around, down the block - looking at the lights."

She nodded again, biting the inside of her cheek.

"I thought you went to bed," I questioned.

"I did. But then I came down to see if you wanted to take your shower tonight or tomorrow morning."

"I'll take it in the morning. I've got my toothbrush in the bathroom down here, so I'll just brush my teeth now."

Another nod.

Just then, Romeo and Juliet bounded in from the kitchen and circled me, each one licking a hand.

"Boy, you and those dogs are really close."

I didn't answer her.

"Good night again, Edward."

"Good night, Rosalie."

* * *

**A/N: Thoughts?**

**Twitter: PattyRosa817**


	9. Chapter 9 - On the Ninth Day

**A/N: To answer a couple of questions, there will be no "time jump" in this story. We will continue counting down the twelve days of Christmas - and then have an epilogue or two. Therefore, by that count, we have four or five chapters left after this one.**

**Now, I know you guys have plenty of other questions - the main one being when and if a certain tall, dark and handsome brother will join the story. You'll have to keep reading though to get the answer to that one.**

**All characters belong to S. Meyer. **

**Beta'd by my Christmas sugarplum, Michelle Renker Rhodes.**

**Chapter 9 – On the Ninth Day…**

* * *

I awoke the next morning staring up at the family room ceiling.

Or maybe I'd been awake for awhile; I couldn't really tell. So much had been running through my head all night – plans, worries, wishes - that I wasn't sure when and if I'd ever really drifted off.

As had become their custom, Romeo and Juliet licked my face and hands to get me up.

I sighed heavily. "I'm coming, guys. I'm coming."

When I returned from walking the dogs, Renee was in the kitchen - getting breakfast ready as she'd promised last night.

"Good morning, Edward." She gave me a bittersweet smile.

I gave her the same sort of grin in return. "Good morning, Renee. You really didn't have to do this."

"Of course I did. Lord only knows when you'll be able to get another decent meal today, hopping from airport to airport."

"Probably not until I get to my parents'," I agreed. "Unless my brother's already eaten them out of house and home."

Renee chuckled and patted my cheek. "It was great having you with us, Edward. I hope the New Year brings you everything your heart wants and deserves."

"I hope the same for you, Renee. Do you need any-"

At that moment, Bella walked into the kitchen. Her hair was a beautiful mess over her head, eyes tired and groggy, wearing a tank and a pair of sweats I could only imagine she'd just thrown on – since I knew only too well that she didn't wear jammies to bed.

She stopped in her tracks when she saw me.

"Edward. Good morning." She gave me a small smile, but I could see through it - the same sadness and yearning I was feeling this morning.

"Hey. Morning, Bella." What I really wanted to do was take the few steps to her and wrap her in my arms and give her a proper greeting, but those were over and done with for the time being.

She stared at me for two more seconds and then moved to the hooks by the door - where the coats rested - and picked up her coat.

"I'm just taking Romeo and Juliet for their morning walks."

"I already took them."

She paused, her back to me. "Oh." Her shoulders rose and fell. "Thanks."

Out of my periphery, I could see Renee's eyes moving between us. I swallowed and turned around, away from Bella.

"Bella, honey, since the dogs have been walked, why don't you help me with breakfast?"

"Sure, mom," Bella answered and walked to the pantry, while I muttered something about setting the table, and grabbing all the necessary utensils, made my way out of the kitchen.

OOOOOOOOOO

"Breakfast is ready, guys!" Renee called up the stairs about twenty minutes later. "Come down before it gets cold!"

I zipped up my duffel and flung it over my shoulder, pausing for a few seconds to look around Rose's room. Thankfully, she'd been out of the room already when I'd come up a few minutes ago. I showered and dressed quickly, and when I'd emerged from the bathroom, she still hadn't returned. After the awkwardness between us for the past couple of days, especially that strange scene last night by the steps, I wasn't looking forward to seeing her, to how we'd actually say goodbye. I drew in a deep breath, overwhelmed by how drastically my dreams and expectations had changed since I'd first stepped into this room a little over a week ago. Picking up my garment bag, I stepped out.

When I got to the dining room, Jasper had arrived. Charlie and Renee were seated and Jasper was harassing his mom purposely, hugging her tight from behind.

"Come on, Renee!" he joked, while she playfully tried to free herself from his grip, "Gimme some of that sugar!"

"Jasper, I swear, you get into these pesky moods sometimes," she scowled, fighting a smile.

Bella walked in with a stack of pancakes in her hands and placed them in the middle of the table, rolling her eyes at her brother's antics.

"S'alright, mom. You can go ahead and say I'm your favorite. Bella knows it!" He smirked at Bella, but she simply rolled her eyes at him and walked back into the kitchen.

"Whatever, Jazz."

He chuckled and looked up at me, grinning mischievously while still holding Renee captive. Charlie looked on at his wife and son, his mustache twitching in amusement.

I took advantage of everyone's apparent inattention and walked into the kitchen after Bella. She was stacking a few pieces of toast on to a plate.

"You need help?"

Her head snapped up, eyes growing wide when she saw me. "No," she shook her head softly. "I've got it, Edward."

We gazed at each other, and then slowly, she smiled. "Go," she whispered.

Reluctantly, I walked back into the dining room.

Just as we all took our seats, Rose walked into the dining room, wearing her coat, cheeks red from the cold. She didn't meet anyone's eyes as she took her coat off and hung it behind her chair, taking a seat.

"So I see everyone was just going to start without me," she said coolly, reaching her fork out and stabbing a pancake with it.

"We waited for you, honey," Renee said gently, "but I had no idea where you were. I called you on your cell, but you didn't pick up."

Rose didn't respond. Instead, with eyes on the table, she reached out and stabbed a sausage this time.

Renee watched her daughter for a few moments, but Rose simply stuck a piece of pancake in her mouth, chewing it methodically, eyes trained straight ahead.

When Renee finally took a bite of her food, the rest of us dug in. The sounds of forks and knives scraping against food and plates filled the air, simple conversation, and Jasper's moans of approval over the food.

"Jasper, where are Al and the girl?" Renee asked.

"They stayed home," Jasper answered through a mouthful of eggs. "We didn't want to overwhelm you this morning."

"Nonsense," Renee frowned, "You call your wife and tell her to get down here with those girls right away!"

"Yes, ma'am," Jasper chuckled, winking at his mom.

"Jazz, can Charlotte and Vicki stay over tonight, for New Years?" Bella asked. "I'll babysit them, and you and Al can go home and ring in the New Year any way you want," she grinned impishly.

"This day just keeps getting better and better!" Jasper exclaimed, raising his cup of OJ in toast towards Bella. "Hell yeah you can babysit tonight!"

Everyone chuckled.

Well, almost everyone.

"Edward, I hope there are no delays on any of your connections today, or else you may end up spending New Years on an airport cot," Charlie snickered.

"I hope not, Charlie," I grinned, taking a sip of my juice.

"Well, if you do end up getting stuck, you make sure that airline gives you-"

"I went for a walk."

That came from Rosalie. She glared down at her plate, moving her food from side to side before raising her head and straight ahead once more.

"This morning. I went for a walk."

Everyone's eyes turned to her. Her expression was cool and unreadable, but my heart pounded loudly in my chest. There was something about the way her nostrils flared, about the way her shoulders rose and fell. I glanced over at Bella. She was watching her sister with a frown of confusion, her head cocked to the side.

"Where'd you go, Rose?" Charlie asked conversationally, sticking a piece of scrambled eggs in his mouth.

Rose picked up her glass of orange juice, and with a wry grin, turned her eyes to her father.

"I went for a walk through the woods, behind the house."

My pulse raced.

"You'd better be careful back there," Charlie chuckled playfully with his eldest daughter, "You don't know those woods half as well as Bella does. Could've gotten lost."

"Oh, I almost did," Rose said, raising her brows. "You're absolutely right, I _don't_ know these woods half as well as Bella and her pets do. Luckily for me, she and _all_ her faithful dogs left a nice path of footprints for me to follow. All the way up to that meadow she's always loved, and all the way back."

Blood pounded between my ears, so loud that for a few seconds it was all I could hear.

Slowly, my eyes trailed to Bella, sitting across the table from me. The lines of confusion on her forehead had increased, but I saw the exact second when the meaning of Rose's tirade hit her, when she saw what she was getting at. Her eyes grew wide; pretty bottom lip dropped, and when Rose looked over to her, she remained eerily still, like a small deer trapped in a truck's headlights.

"Jasper, you remember that meadow Bella's always loved, don't you? The one she used to try to drag us up to year after year?" Rose asked, eyes still holding Bella caged.

Jasper watched Rose carefully. "Yeah, Rose, I remember."

"Rose, don't do this now," I said in a quiet yet firm tone.

"Don't do what now, Edward?" she asked, refusing to release Bella from her glare.

But Bella held Rose's gaze; as her penitence while fear, shame and so much apology seeped into her deep, dark eyes.

"Rose…" she swallowed thickly. "Rose, it didn't happen the way you're thinking. We were going to tell you."

"What's going on here?" Charlie asked.

"What?" Rose sneered. "What exactly _were_ you going to tell me, dear little sister?"

Bella's chest heaved violently. "Rose, please let me explain."

"Fuck," Jasper cursed under his breath.

"Don't do this now, Rose." I repeated.

For the first time, Rose's eyes snapped to mine, and in them I saw all the hurt, the humiliation, and the fury she was feeling. Yes, I felt guilty as hell, but it didn't change anything; it didn't change the fact that I'd protect Bella from anything and anyone, including her sister.

"Rose, I know you're angry and you have a right to be, but stop and think first." I glanced at Renee, who was watching the scene unfold with more sadness than confusion in her expression. "Don't. Do this. Now."

"Because that would make _me_ the bad guy, right?" she hissed. "I would be the one who's wrong?"

"This isn't about right or wrong," I said carefully.

"Oh, Edward," Rose chuckled humorlessly, voice shaking, "this is most definitely about right and wrong."

"What's going on?" Charlie questioned again.

No one answered.

Slowly, Rose turned her eyes back to Bella. Bella's chest heaved; one solitary tear rolled down her cheek.

"Rose, I'm so sor-"

"Don't, Isabella," Rose sneered. "Just don't." And with that, she pulled away from the table and left.

The rest of us sat in stunned silence.

"Will someone please explain to me what just happened?" Charlie asked.

I looked over at him. Renee had taken his hand in hers over the table. "Oh, Charlie…"

Bella turned apologetic eyes towards her father. "Dad, I…"

I rose and walked over to Bella, standing next to her and taking her cold hand in my own. She squeezed it tightly.

"Charlie, Renee…"

Charlie looked at me, then at the way I held his daughter's hand, and then back between us again before dropping his shoulders.

"Aw, Bella. Aw, damn." He shook his head and dropped it.

Silence.

I cleared my throat. "Charlie, Renee, I want you both to know that while Bella and I didn't plan this, we were going to tell you all."

"When?" Charlie asked angrily, head snapping up. "When exactly were you going to tell us?"

"When the timing was better," I said, glancing quickly at Renee.

Charlie shook his head again. "Shit, son, we trusted you-"

"Dad, no," Bella said, voice shaking but strong, "Don't blame this on Edward. This was both of us."

"And you?" Charlie asked in a bewildered tone. "Bella, how could you do this to your sister?"

Bella's bottom lip trembled. I gripped her hand tighter. "I never meant to hurt Rose, Dad, but I fell in love with him. I fell in love with him," she repeated, crying.

"We tried to do things right, Charlie," I explained. "Rose and I…we're not together anymore, Sir. And Bella and I agreed to part for a while, to give Rose time...and so that Bella could focus on her last year of undergrad and help out with Renee…"

I turned my eyes to her. She was looking between Bella and I, obviously anguished, but not with the confused expression Charlie still wore; rather with sympathy, maybe even compassion.

Charlie dropped his head again, exhaling heavily; looking exhausted suddenly. "I…I don't even know what to say…"

"I have to go talk to Rose," Bella cried quietly - and turned to leave.

I gripped her hand tighter and shook my head when she looked up at me.

"Edward, I have to."

"No, Bella, not now."

She opened her mouth to protest.

"Ed's right, Bella," Jasper spoke up. "It's not a good idea for you to try to talk to Rose right now." He drew in a deep breath and stood up. "Let me go give it a try." We watched Jasper walk out of the dining room, and then I turned to Bella's parents once more.

"Mr. and Mrs. Swan, I apologize for all the trouble I've caused, but I love Bella. I want you both to know that I will always love her. I will always be here for her. And if it counts for anything, I will always be on _her_ side."

With that, Charlie's head snapped up again. He stared at me long and hard.

"Son, I think you'd better get going."

His dismissal stung. Bella gripped my hand tighter, fisting my sleeve in her other hand.

"Dad, don't be like this with Edward. We didn't plan this, but we love each other, and I'm on his side as much as he's on mine."

"It's okay, Bella," I assured her, keeping my eyes on her father. "Yes, Sir. I'll leave. But before I do, I'd like both Renee's and your assurances that as much as you can prevent it, Bella won't be subjected to Rose's verbal abuse any longer. She never deserved it in the first place, and she doesn't deserve it now."

Charlie's nostrils flared. I hated that I had to leave the man on such bad terms, but my first priority would now and always be Bella.

"Edward, I know how to take care of my daughters," he growled lowly.

I could see the way Renee's grip around Charlie's hand tightened. "Edward," she said in a much softer tone, "Bella will be fine. _I_ won't let things go too far anymore. I promise you that."

I nodded. "Again, I apologize. Not for loving Bella, but for the trouble I've caused. Renee, you'll be in my prayers for a quick and healthy recovery."

"Thank you, Edward. You'll be in my prayers too."

"Good-bye, Sir."

Charlie glared down at the table.

I turned to leave, Bella still at my side, holding on to me tightly.

"Isabella, stay here. I want to talk to you," Charlie called out.

Bella looked up at me, panic-stricken. "Dad, I'll be right back."

"No, Bella. Now."

She opened her mouth. I shook my head almost imperceptibly. "Shh," I whispered soothingly. "Stay here with your dad. I'll be outside calling a cab."

She looked back at her dad and then lifted her eyes once more to me. I smiled encouragingly.

"I'll be right out, okay?"

"Okay," I agreed.

OOOOOOOOOO

Before picking up my bags, I knelt down in front of Romeo and Juliet.

"Now I know Juliet's your first girl, but you've got to take care of Bella too, okay?" I told Romeo.

He panted vehemently, tongue hanging out, tail wagging.

I chuckled and patted his head.

"And you, Juliet, you keep showing this guy who's boss out in those snow fights."

She lifted up on her hind legs and pawed at me with her front ones, licking my face.

"Alright, alright, that's enough," I snorted. "Take care, guys."

I picked up my bags from the foyer and stepped out of the house.

The cab company said they'd have a car out to me in twenty minutes. I dropped my bags at the end of the driveway and sat over them, dropping my head and running my hands through my hair, my mind in turmoil over the scene that had just transpired. Every shred of guilt or apology I could've felt towards Rose was overpowered by my fear of what she'd do to Bella now - the venom that she'd hurl her way. Fifteen minutes later I'd convinced myself to stay in a hotel in town for the next couple of days, until things calmed down, until I was sure Bella would be okay. I'd call Emmett and my parents and explain the situation to them as best as I could. Then I'd head straight to New York and begin my preparations for my move to Washington – to Bella.

And then I heard the door to the house open behind me and turned around.

Bella walked down the long driveway slowly - head down while I waited for her.

When she looked up, I knew everything had changed.

* * *

**A/N: Thoughts?**

**Twitter: PattyRosa817**


	10. Chapter 10 - On the Tenth Day

**A/N: Alright, guys, a little bit of TRUST, okay?**

**Read through, and then meet me at the end. I insist.**

**All characters belong to S. Meyer. I'm just messing with their holidays.**

**Michelle Renker Rhodes is my Christmas pudding.**

**Chapter 10 - On the Tenth Day…**

* * *

I woke up to the flight attendant's voice over the loudspeaker.

"Ladies and gentleman, we are now approaching Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. Local temperature is thirty-seven degrees Fahrenheit. Local Time is eleven seventeen p.m., so we'll definitely be landing before New Year! On behalf of the pilot and the rest of the crew and airline, I'd like to apologize for tonight's delays, but the sky has finally cleared over Chicago, and you'll all be with your friends and family soon. Once again, we'd like to thank you for flying our airline, and we hope to see you next time your plans…"

I closed my eyes again, trying to drown out the attendant's nasal voice - as well as the images that had been bombarding me for almost twelve hours…

_She'd walked over to me slowly, and as soon as she'd met my eyes, I'd known everything had changed._

_I wrapped my hands around her face, holding her tight._

"_Damn it, Bella, don't let them do this."_

"_They're not doing anything, Edward," she'd insisted shakily. "I just…this is my family…no matter what, Rose is my sister. Sisters don't do this to each other-"_

"_Are those your words, or your father's?"_

_She'd closed her eyes, lips trembling._

"_Bella, they'll get over it. Rose will get over it. She'll realize that there was nothing real between her and me, and that you and I weren't trying to hurt her. Everything will be okay."_

"_You don't know that. Sisters are supposed to stand with each other through everything, to love each other-"_

"_When the hell has she stood by you?" I growled angrily, tightening my hold on her face. "When has she shown you any love or consideration? Damn it, Bella! Don't do this! Don't let them guilt you into giving up on what we have for something you never had with her! Think of yourself, for once! Think of us!"_

_She started crying._

"_Look, I'll stay," I pleaded desperately. "I'll stay in a hotel in town as long as you need me, until Rose leaves, until your father understands that we're not-" _

"_No, Edward," she shook her head. "I need to think. I need some time and space. This has all happened so quickly; maybe we imagined it all."_

_I dipped my head and pressed my mouth to hers, pulling her lips between mine. She responded instantly, greedily, wrapping her hands around mine._

"_Does this feel imagined?" I breathed. _

_She pulled away panting, her eyes on my chest. "Just give me some time to sort all this mess out, Edward. Please."_

_I reached for her hips and tried to pull her in again, but she resisted. "Bella, I don't want to leave you like this."_

"_Please, Edward." She moved in and kissed me quickly, chastely. "I'll call you, okay?"_

"_Bella!"_

_But she turned around and left._

OOOOOOOOOO

When the anxious row of weary travelers in front of me finally walked down the narrow aisle, I reached up for my duffel and followed them out of the plane.

"Thanks so much for flying with us. I really hope to see _you_ again," the tall, blonde flight attendant grinned salaciously my way as I stepped off the plane, taking me in from head to toe none-too-discreetly.

"Thanks," I mumbled.

I made my way through the gate, eyes unfocused, staring straight ahead. While I grabbed my garment back from the carousel over by baggage claim, someone tapped me – hard - on the shoulder.

Emmett was grinning widely when I turned around, blue eyes sparkling with mirth.

"So you decided to grace us with your presence before the New Year, huh?"

"Em," I said surprised, shaking his hand. "I wasn't expecting you to be here. Both my connections had some fucked up delays. I was just going to take a cab."

Emmett smirked, frowning down at our shaking hands, and pulled me in for a one-shoulder hug.

"Like I'd let my little bro spend the new year in a cab alone. If you would've had your phone on, you would've known I'd be here waiting for you. I've been trying to get in touch with you all day!" he grinned.

"Oh. Oh, yeah," I mumbled, raking a hand through my hair. "I turned it off when I boarded the plane in Washington. But then they kept us on the tarmac for almost two hours, and I had about a four hour delay in Portland. I guess I forgot to turn it back on."

Emmett frowned. "Yeah, we had a storm here; hey, you look like shit."

I snorted. "Thanks. Good to see you too."

He chuckled, scrutinizing me carefully. "Eventful week?"

"You have no idea," I muttered, and then with a deep breath, "Emmett, I know this is kind of messed up, but I'm going to have to leave again tomorrow morning. I've got to go back to Washington."

Emmett raised both brows. "Really? How come?"

I sighed and clapped him on the shoulder. "Let's get going. I'll tell you on the way back to Mom and Dad's."

But Emmett didn't budge. Instead he held his ground and with an exaggerated sigh, pulled out his cell phone.

"Hold up, bro." He dropped his eyes to his cell. "Before we rush outta here, let me read you some interesting emails I've been getting all day." And then scrolling through his phone he read, "Doctor Emmett Masen, from Chicago, Illinois, I looked you up in the yellow pages. I think you're related to Edward Masen, also from Chicago. If so, I have an urgent message for you to give your brother."

He looked up at me and grinned, despite the pure anxiousness that must've been etched across my face.

"My name is Bella Swan, and I _think_," Emmett read on with emphasis, "I'm your brother's girlfriend." He snorted, eyes still on phone. "I gotta tell you, bro; that right there was enough to pique my attention. Anyway," he continued, "she goes on to say: I've been trying to get in touch with him for the past few hours, but he must be in the air and have his phone off. Either way, can you please tell Edward that I love him with all my heart, and that I'm so sorry for how stupid I acted this morning? Tell him that I'm **NOT**," Emmett looked up again, "and she wrote the word 'not' in capitals and bold type" – he looked down at the message again – "I'm **NOT** going to let Rose or anyone separate us, that is, if he still wants me. Tell him that I **WON'T** – capitals and bold again – sacrifice his love, not if he's still willing to give it to me."

Emmett's eyes flew up, sparkling with amusement once more. I stared at him - in bewildered shock - my duffel slowly sliding off my shoulder. He chuckled and kept going.

"And please tell him that I'm coming to him, that I'll be there as soon as that stupid storm let's up, and to please, please, please wait for me, because I have no idea where I'll be going. Thank you, Emmett. And if you're not Edward's brother, please disregard this entire message."

My heart hammered in his chest. I glared at Emmett, completely floored while my brain tried to process what he'd just read.

"What?" I heaved. "When?"

"A couple of hours after your flight was supposed to take off from Washington."

It took me a few moments to speak again. "What did you say?"

"Well," he began with dramatic flourish, and then scrolled through his phone again, "I said, 'Dear Bella, I am indeed Edward's brother, Emmett, and am extremely pleased to make your acquaintance, even if it is through cyberspace. You're probably right; Edward most likely has his phone off, otherwise I'm sure he would've responded to you, especially if your email to him was half as lovely as your email to me. I will definitely relay your message as soon as I can get through to him myself, and please don't worry. Just give me your flight information, and I'll make sure we're waiting for you when you arrive."

He looked up with a smirk.

"Then I asked her if she was comfortable relaying any of the particulars of the week with me, and she went on to give me a very interesting story. I asked her for some background information related to all the participants, for clinical reasons, of course, and she was sweet enough to provide some of those too. We've had some very productive hours, very informative, and basically, as I've told her, what it boils down to, Edward, is that Rosalie has to come to terms with this in her own time, and that there's nothing either of you can do to make that happen. And because of Rosalie's childhood fears and issues regarding her sister, which were allowed to fester due to her parents' fear of upsetting one child over the other, the situation has been aggravated. But that is entirely Rosalie's issue, not Bella's, or yours. Sounds like Rose would benefit from some one on one time with me," he mused. "Anyway, yes, it's a thorny situation, but life's full of thorny situations and-"

I cut him off with a wave of the hand. "Emmett, where is she?"

He grinned and looked at his watch. "Her flight was due to arrive at 11:40 p.m." - his eyes moved to the flight information menu on the wall - "and it's 11:45 p.m. now."

My own eyes snapped up to the flight menu, where I immediately focused on the latest direct flight from Sea-Tac to O'Hare, and the word that flashed green and white on the screen.

"Landed," I breathed, and then took off running.

"Edward!" Emmett roared while his laughter followed me all the way down.

She was just stepping out of the gate, duffel hanging from her shoulder, looking tired while her eyes scanned her surroundings warily, yet she was so damned beautiful that my heart clenched. When our eyes met, the most glorious grin lit up her face. She ran to me and I dropped my bags and lifted her off the ground, holding her up and against me tighter than ever before.

"I'm sorry," she breathed anxiously against my neck. "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry," she repeated over and over until I captured her mouth with mine and stopped her needless apologies. With no concern for the show we were putting on, our lips crashed together over and over.

"It's okay," I reassured against her mouth. "It's okay. You're here. You're here. Everything's okay."

She wrapped her arms around my neck and buried her face, kissing softly over and over. "I love you, Edward. I had to tell you something in person." When she met my gaze, rich brown eyes sparkled. "I love you and I can deal with _anything_…except losing you."

I grinned widely, feeling as if my heart would burst. "You're not going to lose me. Ever." I held her tight against me again. "Ever."

For what felt like hours, we simply held each other.

"It's eleven fifty-two," someone murmured behind us.

I put Bella down and turned to Emmett, who watched us with a wry grin. Gripping her hand, I turned us to him.

"Bella, this is my brother, Emmett. Emmett, this is Bella."

Emmett chuckled and reached out to shake Bella's hand heartily. "Bella, it's really friggin' great to meet you – in person that is."

Bella chuckled sheepishly. "It's good to meet you in person too, and…thanks."

He glanced over at me. "My pleasure."

OOOOOOOOOO

"Eleven fifty-eight!" Emmett announced cheerily as we passed through the revolving doors leaving the airport. I glanced down at Bella, gripping her hand tightly in mine, determined to never let go again.

We held each other's gaze, vaguely aware of Emmett walking off to get the car. At some point in time, a loud bang rang out behind me and in the reflection of Bella's eyes, fireworks erupted.

"Happy New Year, Edward," she whispered, while the world celebrated around us.

I cupped her jaw and leaned in close to her lips. "Happy New Year, love," I whispered, before capturing her mouth slowly.

And the tenth day began…

OOOOOOOOOO

When we arrived at my parents' house, they were both still awake.

Bella held on to me nervously, sort of the way she had back in her family's dining room during that moment that felt like ages ago now. But I knew it hadn't been ages, and though we hadn't discussed what had happened in those hours that we'd been apart, I knew we'd have to talk about it soon. For now, Bella and I simply reveled in each other's company.

So when I introduced Bella to my parents' I thanked my lucky stars that we'd always had such a close relationship, that they trusted my judgment, that though I knew they'd been expecting a tall, beautiful blonde, they showed no surprise at the petite, enchanting brunette they were introduced to instead, otherwise it would've made for a pretty awkward moment.

"Bella, it's great to meet you," my dad said, shaking her hand.

"It's great to meet you, too, Mr. Masen," she responded, her voice shaking only slightly.

"Please, call me Emmett."

"Emmett, then," she smiled more bravely.

My mom didn't even bother with a handshake, pulling Bella into a full-out hug. "Bella, I'm so happy to have you with us. And you can call me Beth."

We walked through the house, making easy conversation while Bella and I held on to each other, and I relayed all my delays of the day.

"Edward, honey," my mom said when we'd settled in the kitchen table for a couple of New Year celebratory drinks, "your father and I were worried that you'd end up ringing in the New Year on an airplane among a bunch of strangers!"

We all laughed.

And I looked at Bella. "No," I grinned, "I actually rang in the New Year in the best way possible."

OOOOOOOOOO

We only stayed up until about one, because Bella and I were exhausted from the long day of travel, and Emmett said he was exhausted of waiting at the airport for half the day.

I led her through the house, and out through the kitchen door to the detached-garage-converted-bedroom Emmett and I had shared through our teenage years, until he'd gone off to college a couple of years before me.

Bella looked around. "This is an...interesting set-up," she said of the large bedroom, living room, kitchen set-up.

I snorted and put my hands lightly on her hips. "Emmett and I enjoyed it; that is, until we got old enough to want to bring girls over. Then it kind of sucked to have your brother here."

She laughed. "Yeah, I can imagine it would've."

We grinned at each other, and then I pulled her into my arms, groaning with delight.

"I still can't believe you're here."

"Believe it, especially since you might have to keep me for a while," she snickered quietly.

I pulled back to look at her. "Was it that bad?"

She shook her head and forced a smile. "No, it wasn't that bad. My mom actually took it a lot better than I thought she would."

"Thank God," I exhaled. "I was worried about her."

"So was I," Bella admitted, biting her lip. "She told me not to worry about her, that she never expected the world to stop spinning just because she has this thing now." She smiled. "She told me she loved me no matter what."

I ran my hands up and down her arms soothingly.

"My dad's having a…harder time understanding."

"I know he is, Bella."

She looked down at the floor. "Rose won't even speak to me. Despite what you and Jasper said, I tried, but…" she shrugged.

I cupped her cheek. "Hey." When she met my gaze, I kissed her gently. "So what made you decide to come meet me?"

"Because I realized, Edward, that no matter how upset at me my father is, and no matter the fact that Rose won't speak to me," – she took a deep breath and shuddered – "it was the thought of losing _you_ that killed me."

I pulled her against me once more.

"And also, Alice may have yelled at me a bit and told me to grow up and think of me - and of you, first for once. Something about that at the end of the day you have to live for yourself."

I grinned, kissing the top of her head, inhaling the sweet scent of her hair. "I really love Alice."

She chuckled. "I really do, too. She and Jasper drove me to the airport."

"I love Jasper too."

She looked up at me and rolled her eyes.

I chuckled and then said more solemnly, "Your dad will come around, Bella. Despite everything, I've seen how much he loves you, how much he treasures you, and I do understand how this must look to him. But he _will_ come around."

"I know he will," she agreed.

"And…Bella, I know it means a lot to you for Rose to understand, but-"

"I still think she'll understand someday, Edward." She inhaled deeply. "Emmett says she needs therapy. I don't think she'd be too happy to hear that," she mumbled. "Still...I remember that day...the day that I almost drowned. She didn't want me to drown, Edward." Her eyes trailed back up to mine. "That has to mean something, right?"

I nodded, smiling down at her softly, because there was so much hope in her beautiful, creamy face.

We gazed at each other silently for a while.

"Do you want to take a shower?"

She bit her lip.

"You know, while I wait for you out here - and then take my own shower."

"Okay," she nodded.

She picked up her duffel and pulled out a few odds and ends, and then quietly walked into the bathroom. I sat on the edge of the bed, waiting, thinking…

Yes, it was just last night that we'd talked about making love the next time we were alone, but it had been a long fucking day - for both of us. So much had happened in the past twenty-four hours, and I understood her obvious hesitancy, her exhaustion, both physical and mental.

When she stepped out of the bathroom in a little tank top and sweats, I covered the erection that had been building for the past few minutes with my own towel.

"I'll be out in a few," I murmured.

She nodded. "I'll be waiting in…bed."

I kept a towel around my hips when I emerged, and then cursed myself for not bringing in my own pair of sweats into the bathroom. I didn't want her to think I was expecting sex - wanting it, yes - but not expecting it.

"You okay?" I asked her while I toweled off my hair and crossed to the dresser for those sweats.

She gazed up at me from under the covers, wide-eyed, taking me in from head to toe the way the flight attendant had done, the way women tended to do pretty often, but from her…

"Edward…"

I turned away from the dresser, sweats in hand in front of me.

"Come here."

I approached her slowly and sat on the edge of the bed, next to her.

Doe eyes bored into mine. She reached out and took the sweats from where I had them - clenched in my hands.

"Bella…I don't want you to think-"

"You promised me," she whispered, propping herself up on one elbow, cupping my jaw, kissing me. "You promised…"

"Bella…" I breathed into her mouth, my erection painful between my legs, "I understand if you're tired, or overwhelmed, or just not-"

She gazed up at me through heavy lids, breathing hard, resting her forehead against mine. "Please, Edward…" Long lashes fluttered softly. "Make me yours in every way - like you promised."

And then she fisted my hair and pulled me down over her.

Our mouths met and melded, soft kisses gave way to eager tongues. Under the covers her legs parted and my body fell between her, hard moving against soft, her breaths in my mouth, fingers digging into muscle, against my back, over my shoulders. Her touch spurred me on. I grinded against her harder; her back arched.

When she pushed me away with one hand I may have cried if she hadn't held my gaze and pulled her tank top off, revealing soft, round breasts. I pushed her down gently, mouth to mouth, my hands exploring the mounds she'd revealed, her cries bubbling and building.

"I love you, Edward," she whispered, arching her back against my mouth. "I want you."

I told her I loved her too. I whispered it in her ear while she nipped my chest, I murmured it against her jaw while she took my towel off and mumbled something about being on the pill, I breathed it into her mouth while I pulled her pants down, and when I slid inside her, I gazed into her eyes and repeated it once more.

She gripped my shoulders, legs wrapping around my back, head writhing from side to side.

"Oh, Edward…"

"Yes, Bella. Yes…"

Nothing else mattered; not the time before us, not how we'd met, not how we'd work things out. No part of the world outside our joined bodies mattered. I was all hers, and she was all mine.

"Edward…"

Her back arched, while her legs moved higher, tightness and heat engulfing me. No, she wasn't a virgin, but close, so close…

I thrust faster, her moans making me groan. She fisted my hair, kissing me soft then hard, raising her head and then dropping it. Opening her eyes and then shutting them.

I grabbed her hands and lifted them over her head, pushing in all the way. She cried softly, sweet sounds I'd never heard, never imagined, and laced her finger tight around mine, gripping my hips with her legs while she came.

I'd never seen anything as beautiful in my life.

And with her cries of pleasure still against my mouth, grazing my neck, I pushed in once more and followed her to heaven.

We lay in bed, panting and exhaustedly content, sharing promises and wishes, and when she couldn't keep her eyes open any longer, I spooned her against my chest and laced our fingers over her stomach.

"No jammies?" I asked.

She nestled herself into me. "No," she yawned. "No jammies."

OOOOOOOOOO

We spent the next day at home with my family, because we were too tired to go anywhere, and Bella got along so well with everyone that the hours just flew by. She called her mom, talking quietly, a bittersweet smile on her face when she hung up. But I held her, and she held me, and I knew we would be okay. The next steps were still unsure, but the most important thing was sure: we'd be taking them together.

And later that evening, while Bella was in the kitchen joking with Emmett and my dad - and I channel surfed while waiting for them to come back - my mom walked over to me and placed Grandmother's ring in my hand.

* * *

**A/N: Thoughts?**

**See? A little Christmas faith, please. :)**

**Twitter: PattyRosa817**


	11. Chapter 11 - On the Eleventh Day

**A/N: Yes, I missed another update. Darn RL keeps getting in the way of my writing. **

**Yes, Edward's dad's name in this story **_**IS**_** Emmett. (Emmett is the older brother, so it only makes sense that **_**he'd**_** be named after his dad, not Edward). And "Beth" is short for Elizabeth.**

**I have 2 IMPORTANT shameless plugs:**

**One: **_**The Twelve Days of Christmas**_** has been nominated for fic of the week over at The Lemonade Stand, along with some other lovely stories! Voting is open for another couple of days. I'm not gonna lie: even though it's an honor to be nominated, I would LOVE to win. You can vote for up to five stories, so go vote, and if you feel so inclined, make this little story one of your faves! **

**Go to: triple w dot tehlemonadestand dot com.**

**Two: For those of you familiar with **_**Indecent Proposal**_**, I'll be posting a two-part outtake to that story in the next week or so. So keep an eye out for that.**

**All characters belong to S. Meyer**

**Michelle Renker Rhodes is my Christmas helper on this.**

**Chapter 11 – On the Eleventh Day...**

* * *

The day after New Year, I awoke to the sweet yet muffled sounds of Bella's voice - soft chuckles followed by hearty laughter - gentle murmurs followed by animated conversation. Eyes still closed, I listened to it all with a vague awareness that she should've been here in bed - with me. Yet she sounded so happy that for a few short minutes, I didn't mind.

And then I felt a soft, warm body throw itself on top of me.

"Gotcha!"

I finally opened my eyes - to the sight of Bella, grinning, eyes sparkling and cheeks red from the cold outside - and straddling me, one leg over either hip while her hands pretended to lock my arms in her grip.

I chuckled hoarsely. "What are you doing?"

"I was trying to scare you!"

"Scare me how? I heard you talking and laughing outside," I snickered, lifting my hips and making absolutely no attempt to free myself from her grip.

"Darn it." She sucked her teeth and splayed herself over me completely, moving her hands to my hair, massaging my scalp. I groaned low in my chest.

"You like that, don't you?" she asked impishly.

"You know I do," I hummed, and shut my eyes again, my body warm all over. Now that my arms were free I brought my hands up and stroked her back softly - over all her layers. "Where were you?"

"I heard a bunch of dogs playing outside. Hey, did you know that your parents' neighbors, the Clearwaters, have four dogs?"

"Four dogs?" I murmured lazily.

"Mhm." She played with a few locks of hair over my forehead, making my body vibrate. "Two of them are almost as big as Romeo and Juliet. Then we just started talking. Their son is fifteen and is thinking of becoming a vet, too."

"Seth, right?" I asked sluggishly.

"Yeah, I think that was his name."

"I remember him."

Bella kept playing with my hair. Her soft lips grazed mine - a few feather kisses here and there.

"Get up, sleepy head. Emmett and your parents are getting ready over at the main house. They said they'll be waiting for us in half an hour."

"Waiting for us for what?" I moaned.

"We're going out for brunch, remember?"

"Oh yeah." I sighed, refusing to open my eyes, reveling in her touch. "How 'bout we skip brunch, and I make you something to eat afterwards?"

"After _what_?" I could hear the knowing grin in her voice. She kissed me again.

"Mmm," I moaned, "You know after what and you're never going to get me out of this bed if you keep kissing me like that."

She chuckled lowly. "Edward, you are an insatiable man."

"Insatiable for _you_." I opened my eyes. She was indeed grinning down at me, her face so close that I could see every color swimming in her eyes, every thought; every want.

I pushed her back so that she was sitting over me again, and undid the zipper to her winter vest.

"You're wearing too many layers."

Bella chuckled and smacked my hand away when I tried to rid her of her shirt next. I lifted my back off the bed and kept right on trying.

"Stop!" she chortled, refusing to give in. "We can get to that later. Besides, don't you have to build up your strength again or something after last night? From what I've been told, a man can only get it up so many times in a twenty-four hour period."

And with that I totally deflated and dropped back down to the bed. I closed my eyes and raked a hand through my hair.

When I opened my eyes again, she was watching me warily, biting her cheek.

"Do I even want to know who told you that?"

"Probably not," she smiled contritely.

I took a deep breath and blew it out heavily, and then Bella lowered herself over me slowly and kissed me, deeper this time, her tongue parting my lips, making me see stars - making me _almost_ forget.

"No more goddamn sleepovers," I hissed when she came up for air and met my gaze again.

She laughed. "I know, Edward. No more sleepovers. But that side of our relationship was over a long time ago. I swear. When I've slept over his house, he's slept on the couch."

"I believe you, but that doesn't change anything."

"I know," she chuckled again. "Just letting you know."

I raised a brow. "Are you going to tell him?"

"About us? Of course. The only reason I would've kept quiet would've been for my parents and Rose, until I told _them_, but since they already know…"

I nodded. "Are you worried about his reaction?"

"No. Should I be?" she asked with a confused grin.

I simply shook my head, but yeah, I felt better. I'd assumed he'd been the one to pop her cherry, but to more or less hear confirmation…

Bella traced my lips with one finger, making it difficult for me to continue on that train of thought – thank God. Besides, yes, I knew it was pretty hypocritical. I was sure there were thing we'd both rather not think of...things we'd rather forget...

"How about you? When you go back to New York in a couple of days…are you going to tell your friends and acquaintances that you have a new girlfriend…and that she's Rosalie's sister?"

"I'll make it clear, as situations arise, that I'm in a serious relationship; the same way I assume you'll be making it clear once you head back to school in a couple of weeks."

Her eyes focused on the way her finger traced around my jaw. "I imagine there will be lots of broken hearts."

"In your school?"

"No," she chuckled. "In New York."

I rolled my eyes.

"Well," she snorted, and snapped her eyes to mine, grinning, "look at you."

"And look at _you_."

She chuckled.

"As for the second part of your question," I said, "I don't think it's necessary for me to advertise the relationship between you and Rosalie. Do you?"

She shook her head slowly. "I suppose it would be awkward."

"Bella, I'm not ashamed of our relationship. I regret that it has upset some people, but I don't regret falling in love with you. I hope you see the distinction."

"Of course I do. It's how I feel myself."

I grabbed her hand in mine, bringing it up to my mouth, kissing her open palm. "We'll handle every situation as it arises, but Bella, in case I haven't been clear enough, _you_ are it for me. Broken hearts and awkward questions, none of that concerns me. Yes, this happened quickly, and yes, it's rearranged many of my priorities, many of my beliefs, but one day in the future, what _was_ won't matter anymore. All of it will be forgotten, and all that'll matter is what _is_."

For a long time, she kissed me softly, whispering her love for me, nodding at my assurances of my love for her, only breaking our kiss to pull her shirt over her head, which instantly served to make me forget everything else. She dropped over me again, pressed chest to chest, languid kisses, hearts beating out the same frenzied rhythm. Yet despite her stated concerns regarding my possibly overzealous stamina, she guided my hands to the hem of her pants, and we made short work of them before she was kind enough to help me with my boxers.

When she settled herself over me, gazing into my eyes before taking me inside her, the entire world became a forgotten entity.

She rose and fell in perfect rhythm - soft cries, demanding grips, eager grinding. I pushed and pulled her smooth hips, feathered my fingers along the perfect roundness of her backside, closed my eyes to keep from going over before her because I was so, so close. So when she pulled me up to sit under her and took me deep one final time, we let go together, calling out one another's names, holding on tight as we rocked and pulsed, bathed in each other's perspiration and in the knowledge that we were all that had ever, and would ever exist.

OOOOOOOOOO

We had brunch at a crab house at the Navy Pier. The restaurant had floor to ceiling windows that overlooked frozen Lake Michigan, while Chicago's city skyline served as the backdrop on the opposite side. The food was really great, but the best part was the awe and admiration on Bella's face every time I looked at her.

"This is so beautiful," she kept saying, gazing out at the lake.

"What do you think of Chicago's skyline, Bella? A beauty isn't it?" Emmett asked, obvious pride for his home city in his tone. My mom and dad shared his boastful grin.

She turned her gaze to the various steel and metal structures that graced Chicago's landscape.

"I suppose it's impressive. I mean, I'd always heard that Chicago's architecture was awesome." She sighed. "But do you know how much energy skyscrapers consume?"

Emmett and my parents stared at her.

I chuckled and picked up her hand, kissing her smooth knuckles. "Bella is an environmentalist at heart."

"Oh, okay," they all exclaimed individually as understanding dawned on them.

"I think that's great," my mom added. "Lord knows we need some people to help keep us from ruining this planet."

My dad nodded. "Although we do our part, Beth, don't we?" He turned to Bella. "We recycle religiously, and this summer a couple of my neighbors and I are planning on starting our own neighborhood compost."

Bella's eyes lit up. "Really? Oh my God, that's great! I've been trying to convince my dad to compost for years now!"

My dad grinned at her. "Well, we all have to do our part, right?"

"That's exactly what I say," Bella said, stretching out her free hand.

Emmett kept staring. "Oh my God, you're a tree-hugger." He roared heartily. "Edward, you've fallen for a tree-hugger!"

Bella smirked at him.

"Bella, you do realize that your boyfriend here is an architect, don't you? He gets paid to design energy monsters - just like those you're looking at – all over New York City!" Emmett snickered playfully, pointing towards the skyline.

Bella looked over at me. A small line marred the space between her brows. She bit her lip.

I chuckled. "Bella, yes, I design high-rises as well as other architectural structures, but for the past couple of years my firm's focus has been extremely eco- friendly. We incorporate solar power as much as possible into our designs, as well as better insulation to reduce energy needs, we reuse materials wherever possible. We've even been looking into way to incorporate wind turbines into our designs. In fact, the last structure I worked on in New York was given a very difficult to obtain green-building rating."

Her face broke out into a wide grin, eyes sparkling. She chuckled and rested her forehead on mine.

"You see? I knew I fell in love with you so quickly for a reason."

I snorted.

"So Bella, would you have dumped Ed here if his firm wasn't on the greenie train?" Emmett teased, half his mouth lifted in a wry grin.

"No, I would've just presented him with all the information so that he could make informed decisions next time he was designing a building."

"So you would've tried to brainwash him."

Bella scowled at him. I watched them both with amusement. Emmett and Bella had gotten along great since the moment they'd met, joking and teasing and taunting.

"Are you saying that you don't believe that our environment is in trouble?"

"Uh oh," my dad chuckled, taking a big bite of his steak.

"You're asking the wrong person about the environment, Bella," my mom added with a smile.

"Emmett's the opposite of a tree-hugger, Bella," I informed her, grinning my brother's way. He grinned back unabashedly. "He conveniently forgets to recycle, buys bottled water by the truckloads, and if it were up to him, we'd have a fresh tree in every room of the house every Christmas."

Bella shook her head at him - while he chuckled away.

He raised a hand. "Guilty as charged."

The environmental debate lasted through the rest of brunch, but then as we walked down the pier, Bella finally gave up on converting Emmett. My mom and dad had fallen behind us, walking much slower, and Bella, Emmett and I strolled up front, Bella between us, her gloved hand in mine.

"Emmett, what made you decide to become a psychologist?"

"He always wanted to be called 'doctor' yet didn't have the stomach for blood," I teased.

Bella laughed at him, while he pursed his lips.

"You're lucky I like you, or else I'd have to kill you," he told her with mock seriousness. "No one outside of this family knows that secret."

She snorted.

"Nah," he laughed, "what really happened was that I used to get into so much trouble in high school that I was always in and out of my guidance counselor's office. I was…a tough guy to deal with, I gotta admit it. He was a really cool dude, though. Anyway, there were a couple of other guys that used to be in and out of his office with me, but these guys…well, they had issues. I remember one day one of the guys picked up a chair and slammed it against the counselor's door while we waited our turns to go in. He ran off and when the counselor walked out, he shook his head, really sadly you know? And he said something like it would take both hard work from the counselor, and hard work from the kid, to get him back on track - because just one of them trying wouldn't be enough." He shrugged. "That kind of stayed with me. I always remembered how upset that kid looked. I've always wished I could've helped him."

"That's really nice, Emmett," Bella murmured honestly.

"Did you like that story?" he asked.

She nodded.

He leaned into her, "That's the heartfelt story I use on girls. Makes me sound like both a tough guy and a guy with a really big heart at the same time, doesn't it?"

She scowled at him, and both Emmett and I burst out laughing. Eventually she laughed with us.

"I don't know what kind of naïve girls that works on," she smirked.

"Oh, you'd be surprised," he snickered. "I'm not out to catch anyone for the long haul yet, anyway."

"But seriously, Bella," he chuckled once his laughter died down, "you and my brother…" – he looked back and forth between us – "I see it. I really do. Don't worry about everything else right now. It'll pass. No matter what others think may be wrong, you two together…that right there is pure right."

I pressed her against my side and kissed the top of her head, and she wrapped her arms around my waist, keeping her eyes on Emmett.

"Thanks."

OOOOOOOOOO

When my parents and Emmett were ready to go back home, I told them to go on ahead without Bella and me. There was one more place I wanted to show her today. Tomorrow would be our last day together - for a few weeks at least. She'd be going back to Washington, and I'd be headed back to New York. More than ever, I was determined to take the necessary steps to finally start my own firm. But it would be months of research and development and sacrifice before I could finally join Bella permanently in Washington. In the meantime, we had a few more hours…

I covered her eyes with my hand as we stepped off of the elevator, guiding her carefully towards the observatory. She chuckled all the way, but when I removed my hand, her chuckles faded, replaced by a look of total awe, her eyes sparkling, only the hint of a smile across her lips.

"Oh, Edward…"

Twilight was setting in, casting a golden glow over the spirals and silver glass windows around the entire city. The sun itself was slowly receding behind the monumental structures, fading languidly, bouncing rays over the icy waters of Lake Michigan.

"Now I know you weren't impressed by the skyline from down there, but we're about a thousand feet up right here, Bella, and I thought maybe-"

"Edward…it's beautiful…" she murmured, gripping my hand tightly. "It's _so_ beautiful…"

I gazed at her, my heart fuller than I'd ever imagined it could be. With a content grin, I swung her around to face me, guiding her arms around my neck before resting my hands on her hips. And then slowly, I swayed us back and forth to nothing but the beat in our chests.

"You know I wouldn't have broken up with you even if your designs weren't eco-friendly, right?" she grinned.

"I know," I smirked.

She snorted. "But I'm glad they are."

"So am I."

We moved together silently. She brought her head down and rested in on my chest.

"What are we dancing to?" she whispered.

"Just to…us," I chuckled.

"I'm not a great dancer," she admitted.

I kissed her hair. "I don't care."

"We have one more day left."

"We have the rest of our lives left."

She tightened her hold around my neck.

"Things are going to be difficult for you, Bella…when you go back."

"I know they are. But I have you."

I kissed the top of her head again. "Yes, you do. And I'm going to come up to see you as often as I can." I moved two fingers under her chin and brought her eyes up to meet mine. "We'll figure everything out, okay? How to get me up there permanently, and then…"

"And then, what?" she breathed, eyes open and trusting.

I drew in a deep breath.

"Bella, I…" – How could I phrase this, how could I explain it to her without bringing up things that I'd rather we both forget?

But then it hit me. I had it all wrong here.

It wasn't a matter of forgetting. It wasn't a matter of not thinking of how we came to be. It was a matter of accepting and moving on. If we wanted others to accept and move on, it had to start with us.

"I have something very…precious," I said slowly, holding her locked in my gaze. "It was always meant for me to give to only the most precious person in my life. And…I had no idea what that really meant until you walked through that kitchen door a few days ago. I was lost, Bella," I admitted, "and I didn't even know it. I _thought_ I knew things, but one look at you, and _everything_ became clear. One look at you, and I no longer _thought_ I knew; I _knew_ I knew."

I caressed her creamy cheek with my thumb and slowly reached up and pulled her left arm down.

When I slipped the ring on her finger, she gasped, eyes firmly on mine.

"It was always meant for you."

She breathed in and out raggedly, mouth slightly ajar, still gazing at me.

I held her face firmly between my hands and spoke quickly, but surely. "Bella, I know it's fast. I know we still have things to work out with your family, with our living arrangements. I know you're young, I know you still have med school ahead of you, a career to establish, but I want to be there with you through all of it. I want you to lean on me. I want to be there when you get home tired from school. I want to help you take care of your mom. I want to make love to you every night. And I'll wait as long as you need me to." I picked up her hand again, the one wearing the ring she hadn't even been able to glance at yet, "But I would be honored…if you wore this through it all."

When I brought her hand to my mouth and kissed it gently, her eyes grew wide, gazing at my grandmother's ring; small, without any fancy bells or whistles, yet priceless beyond words.

"I want to know that someday, when you're ready, you'll be my wife."

**A/N: Thoughts?**

**Winding down now. One chapter left, guys - and then an epi.**

**Twitter: PattyRosa817 **


	12. Chapter 12 - On the Twelfth Day

**A/N: Thanks so much for voting for me over at The Lemonade Stand. The Twelve Days of Christmas was among the winners! So yeah…thanks guys. **

**Last regular chapter below. The Epi should be up tomorrow.**

**For the reviewer who wasn't sure who Edward and Bella were talking about last chapter when he said, "no more sleepovers!" it was Jake. He'd told her he didn't want to have more sleepovers at his place in the previous chapter. Sorry, but I couldn't find your review to get back to you! **

**All characters belong to S. Meyer.**

**Beta'd by Michelle Renker Rhodes**

**Chapter 12 – On the Twelfth Day…**

* * *

Waking to Bella's voice was something I was slowly getting used to – though I'd never take it for granted, especially when as I opened my eyes to the last day of my holidays it quickly dawned on me that I'd be heading back to New York later today.

And Bella would be heading back to Washington.

No, waking up to Bella was definitely not something I could take for granted – at least not yet.

I closed my eyes and grinned to myself while memories of last evening up on the observatory – as well as how we'd celebrated afterwards long into the night - washed over me.

But regardless of all that had happened last night, today we'd be separating, for a few weeks at least. Needing to feel her, to hold her for as long as I still could, I stood up and walked over to where her voice was coming from. The converted apartment that had served as home throughout my teenage years was a cold room since it had originally been a garage. I'd never minded though, and over the last few nights Bella and I had slept bundled together over the full-sized bed, so the cold had actually served a good purpose. Right now though, Bella was bundled inside a fleece blanket, sitting on the convertible sofa that had been Emmett's bed during the time we'd shared this space. She hung up her phone call and stared straight ahead, unaware that I was approaching her from behind.

I took the seat next to her and reached over, pulling her sideways over my lap, blanket and all. She immediately wrapped her arms around my neck, letting the blanket fall.

"Good morning, future Mrs. Masen," I grinned, kissing her softly.

She grinned against my mouth. "Good morning, present Mr. Masen."

I chuckled, running my hands up and down her warm back, kissing her mouth again, her nose, her forehead.

"This is the second morning in a row that I wake up and you're not in bed next to me," I growled lowly.

She smiled, but it was a bittersweet sort of smile. She rested her forehead against mine. "Unfortunately, you're going to have to get used to that."

I let out a heavy sigh, because yeah, she was right. Our eyes met and held. "I won't let too much time pass before you wake up next to me again. I _can't_," I emphasized, and with a raised brow, decided to tease her. "Unless…" – with my eyes still on hers I reached back for her left hand and brought it down between us on her lap while I ran one finger over the ring – "you've already changed your mind…"

She took my face between her small hands and smirked before bringing her mouth to mine in a kiss that wasn't so much sweet anymore as it was eager and passionate and clearly indicative of her feelings.

"Does that feel like I've changed my mind?" she asked huskily, pulling away.

"I don't know," I breathed, my eyes moving between hers and those lips that drove me wild, "I think I need to be shown again," I sucked her bottom lip between my own, "and again," another suck, "and again."

"Mm," she chuckled lowly, pulling on my lips the way I pulled on hers. "Then I guess I'll have to show you as many times as I can before it's time to leave."

My chest constricted at the reminder, but I tried to put it to the back of my mind, at least for the next few minutes while we kissed and tongues touched and swirled around each other and hands ran over thighs and bare chests.

When she came up for air, she grinned impishly at me before resting her head on my shoulder, and hands that had been demanding a few seconds ago now ran languidly up and down my chest. I kissed her forehead and bundled her inside the blanket that now covered us both, ghosting a hand softly up and down her thigh. For a long while, we simply sat there, holding each other.

"That was my mom," Bella finally murmured.

"How is she?"

"She sounds pretty good. She says she feels well, too."

"That's good," I nodded.

"Yeah…" she trailed off. "I wanted to tell her…about you and me and…the ring." Even though her head was resting against my shoulder, facing down, I could hear the smile in her voice. It made me smile in return.

"Why didn't you?" I asked. "Are you worried it's still too soon for her to understand?"

She shook her head. "Edward, this is something I _have_ to tell my mom. I couldn't keep this from her if I tried. Besides," she chuckled, "knowing me it would probably be written all over my face!"

I snorted, absently running two fingers up and down her arm, across her ribs and reveling in the way goose bumps rose all over her flesh.

"I just didn't want to tell her over the phone," she continued, "because yes, it probably will be hard for her to understand at first." She raised her eyes to mine. "I want her, I want all my family – well, almost all my family," she qualified with a sad shrug, "to see how unbelievably _happy_ I am. How _sure_ I am about this. I think…" she sighed, "I think that if they all see that, eventually they'll all be able to accept it. And it won't matter so much anymore how it happened, or how quickly we became _engaged_," she chuckled, bringing her hand up and stretching it out to admire the pretty ring on her finger. I couldn't see her eyes, but I remembered the way they'd sparkled last night as she'd gazed at the ring. I suddenly felt a rush of pure warmth; of unparalleled love.

I tightened my arm around her and kissed the top of her head again. "I think you may be right."

"Besides," her tone sounded amused, "it's not like we're going to get married next month or anything. It'll still be a while for that."

"That's entirely up to you, Bella. Next week, next month, a couple of years from now, whenever you're ready."

She looked up at me.

"But, yes, I suppose we should be living in the same city before we get married, huh?"

She searched my eyes. "Yeah, I suppose we should." Her voice was quiet, but then an excited grin lit up her face. "Alice is going to get a kick out of it."

I grinned crookedly, stroking her leg. "Yeah, I'm sure she will."

"And…I think Jasper will be okay with it, too - at least after he gives me that obligatory big brother line about how he'll kick your ass if you hurt me."

I laughed out loud, but then I brought two fingers under her chin, lifting it and turning her to face me again.

"You know that my entire family is going to be thrilled when we tell them, right?"

She smiled, nodding.

"And Emmett will probably give me a line about kicking my ass if I hurt you, too."

Bella burst into fits, and when she could finally speak, said, "I think Jasper and Emmett will probably get along really well once they meet. They both take their roles as big brothers really seriously."

I rolled my eyes, but couldn't disagree.

We held each other's gaze, both knowing there was one family member we hadn't mentioned yet, and couldn't ignore.

Bella drew in a deep breath. "Mom says Rose is leaving for New York today. Her flight leaves a couple of hours before mine arrives. Jasper will only have to make one trip into Seattle," she said with forced levity.

I stroked her cheek tenderly, hating the sudden sadness in her eyes, the need for a sister's love that she would probably never get, but that I knew she would _always_ long for. I hated it, but I understood it. How would I feel if I'd grown up always looking up to Emmett, and never quite measuring up in his eyes?

And then if I did something that in his eyes, was probably unforgivable?

"Bella…"

"I wanted to talk to her. I wanted to try one more time-"

"Bella…" – I shook my head while she gazed at me, her eyes full of sorrow – "Sweetheart, you heard what Emmett said. There's nothing you can say right now. Rose has to accept this on her own terms, in her own time."

"But, Edward-"

"I know you crave her love, Bella. I know you crave her acceptance." Her bottom lip trembled, and she looked down at her lap, but I reached under her chin again and brought her eyes back up to mine. "And I understand," I said, while one tear rolled down her cheek, "but I need to make sure that you understand that you didn't do _anything_ to make Rose treat you the way she has." Bella gazed at me, her eyes so trusting and hopeful. "You were a baby, Bella. And though I can't say that I know how scared she must've been while your mom was carrying you, I can imagine how frightening it must've been, especially to a child who was probably getting all the information second-hand, through conversations and concerns going on around her. I can even understand a young child being so confused by everything that she harbored a secret resentment towards the baby she thought was responsible for it all. And I can understand your parents not wanting to take sides between the both of you because I can tell how much they truly love you _both_, how much they love the _three_ of you. But while your parents apparently hoped that with time and age everything would blow over and disappear, what they failed to realize is that by not stepping in, the resentment just grew and grew, to the point where Rose probably couldn't stop herself from picking on you even if she tried. It's just part of who she is now, part of her relationship with you."

Bella nodded, silent tears streaming down her face.

"The point is, love, that there's nothing _you_ can say right now to make it _all_ right. This is something Rose has to deal with and maybe someday she will, but until she does, you can't blame yourself for how things turned out. Do you understand that?" I asked gently.

For a long time, she simply held my gaze, but then she nodded slowly and wrapped her arms around my neck.

"I love you, Edward." Her voice was shaky, but sure. "Thank you."

I inhaled deeply, drinking in her scent and her warmth, gripping her waist tightly. "I love you, too. But those were Emmett's words of wisdom, not mine," I said with a smile in my voice, trying to lift her spirits again.

"I know," she snorted. "He more or less told me that over email when I was on the plane the other day." She pulled away and met my gaze. "But thank you for reminding me; for letting me hear it from you, for being here for _me_."

"Always, Bella. Always."

She pulled me close and kissed me again, and when I moved inside her for what I knew would be the last time for too long, I made sure I memorized every sound she made, every look, every cry. And when we rested chest to chest and she stroked my hair, her ring grazed my forehead. I closed my eyes, memorizing that too, because these memories would be all that would keep me warm for the foreseeable future.

OOOOOOOOOO

We had lunch one last time with my parents and Emmett. When we announced our engagement, my parents both got up and came around to congratulate us, my dad giving me a huge handshake followed by a tight hug, and then he pulled Bella in for a hug too. My mom gazed at me through happy, teary eyes.

"The ring looks perfect on her," she whispered in my ear when she pulled me in for a hug. "Like it was made exactly for _her_."

"That's because it was," I whispered back.

"You dog, you," Emmett snickered quietly while he gave me his congratulatory hug and my mom assaulted Bella. "Don't waste any time, bro, do you?"

"Well, when you know, you know, right?"

He chuckled wryly. "No, I don't know. But I'm glad you and Bella do."

Then he pulled Bella into a tight hug, lifting her feet off the ground. I heard her laughing and complaining at the same time, but then while my mom and dad asked a few questions on whether we more or less had a timeline, I could see Emmett talking to Bella quietly. When they were done, she pulled his head down and planted a kiss on his cheek.

"You're going to be a cool big brother to add to my collection of big brothers."

I could see the way Emmett's cheeks flushed, even as he rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, little sis." And then he looked at me, and grinned crookedly. "And as my first official almost-brother-in-law duty, I gotta tell you, if you ever hurt her, I'm going to kick your ass, man."

Everyone – except me – laughed.

Well, I laughed a little.

OOOOOOOOOO

We sat in the airport parking lot, in Emmett's jeep. He'd lent it to me so that I could bring Bella to the airport. Her flight was leaving a few hours before mine. After I dropped her off, I was going to go back to my parent's place and finish up my packing before Emmett drove me to the airport.

So we sat, parked, both of us staring out of the front windshield, our hands laced so tightly together I wasn't sure where hers began and mine ended.

My chest heaved up and down, heart beating so furiously, so anxiously I was sure Bella could hear it. Or maybe not, because out of my periphery I could see her chest heaving as wildly as mine, and I knew that though I couldn't hear it, her heart must've been beating and hurting the same.

Finally, when I couldn't bear it any longer, I turned and rested my head on her shoulder.

She angled herself around and reached up, holding my head between her hands.

"Shh," she smiled softly, bravely. "We'll call and text each other every day - any time we want to. There's no reason to hide anymore."

I nodded vehemently into her shoulder, kissing her neck, trying to make it enough, because for now, it had to be enough.

I drew in a sharp, quick breath, and steeled myself. I had to be strong, for _her_.

My eyes met hers, and I took both her hands in mine. "As soon as I get back to New York, I'll clear my schedule for three or four weeks from now, as soon as I can manage it," I promised intently. "And I'll come up for a long weekend."

"Don't get yourself fired or anything, Edward," she joked quietly. "Remember, you need to keep all your clients happy, especially now."

I nodded, smiling with her. "You're right. I'm going to do my best in these next few months to maintain my rep and continue building up my customer base. I'm going to do my research and planning, and when I come down to Seattle, I'll have some prospects to check out."

She nodded. "I'll help out as much as I can."

"You'll be busy with school and with your mom, Bella. And if I'm allowed inside the house," I smirked, "I'd like to come help out and see your mom next time I'm up there."

She shrugged and grinned sheepishly. "I can't promise that, Edward, it's not my house, but I'd like that too."

I nodded, because I understood. No matter how quickly she and I had found each other and come to know that it was right, and that it was forever, we had to let everyone else catch up.

"How about we help each other out as much as we can, with your research, with my mom, with anything else that comes up?" she offered.

I put my mouth on hers, softly tasting her lips. "I think that's a great idea."

"Mm," she hummed, and then deepened our kiss, her hand stroking my jaw, while my hands wrapped around her small waist, pulling her in closer, her need to touch me as palpable as my own need.

"Thank you," I murmured against her mouth, "for the best twelve days of my life."

"All of them?" she asked with a raised brow.

"All of them," I confirmed honestly.

"And even though we'll be apart for a while, every day from now on will be better than any day before these holidays, because I have you now."

She chuckled softly, pecking my lips. "When you say things like that, what can I possibly say to top it?"

I grinned, and she pecked my lips again, but when she met my gaze, her endlessly deep brown eyes sparkled, boring into mine with a burning intensity.

"I love you, Edward Masen, with all my heart and with all my soul, and I'm so grateful that I'll have you to lean on now whether you're by my side or in New York. And no matter how difficult the next few months are between school and my mom and Rose and anything else that may come up, I know I have you, and I _know_ I'll be okay because of it."

I chuckled, running one hand down her long, dark hair, reveling in its silkiness, in the fact that someday I'd once again be able to run my hands through it all night.

"See? You already topped it."

"I tried."

"Say hi to everyone from me, including Romeo and Juliet."

Her grin lit up her face. "I'm sure they're missing you."

I shrugged. "I guess I miss them too."

She laughed out loud, and then threw her arms around me.

OOOOOOOOOO

There were no goodbyes when I finally had to leave her in front of security. No tears of separation, no painful words of farewell, only the knowledge that no matter what, we had each other now, and despite the miles that separated us, from now on, our hearts would always be together, would always beat as one - despite the distance. Over twelve days, we'd found each other, and someday soon, we'd have so much longer than that.

"Merry Christmas, Edward," Bella smiled, laced hands falling away slowly, fingertips touching to the very end, walking away backwards.

"Merry Christmas, Bella."

* * *

**A/N: Thoughts?**

**Thanks to all you guys who continue reviewing, even though I've had a hard time getting back to all. I promise I read and appreciate every single review.**

**As a side story, my eldest brother and his wife got married - not simply engaged - two weeks after meeting. She was an English nanny, he was a self-employed contractor. Talk about different worlds. Four years and over twenty years later, they're still going strong. So yeah, the love at first sight thing? I'm a believer. (I've got my own story, but that's for another day.) :)**

**Epi tomorrow.**

**Twitter: PattyRosa817**


	13. Epilogue

**A/N: Loved hearing all you guys' personal stories on your experiences with love at first sight, either your own love, or your parents' or family or friends'. Yes, love at first sight does exist, and sometimes the person you fall in love with isn't the most convenient, but what can you do? **

**Anyway, here's the epilogue. Hope you guys enjoy it.**

**All characters belong to S. Meyer.**

**My girlie Michelle Renker Rhodes betad this. Thanks for everything, bb. :)**

* * *

_They say a child is a blessing…_

_Especially one born on December 24__th__, exactly six years after her mother and father first met._

_They say a child brings family together, heals old wounds, makes it easier to forgive and forget._

_They say a child changes everything…_

After those first twelve days we spent together, Bella and I dealt with a few months of separation, broken up by monthly visits and constant phone calls and texts during which we spoke about anything and everything: how her mom was doing, how school was going, how work was going, how Jake was doing with his new girl, Rebecca, the weather, Romeo and Juliet's latest antics, the color of the shirt she was wearing that day, what Penn Station smelled like on a crowded morning, how many pages she had left in her journal, the new recipe I'd picked up from my boss at work - anything and everything.

On my second visit, Bella brought me back home with her. Renee greeted me with a warm hug, Jasper greeted me with a clap on the shoulder, Alice hugged me tight and told me she loved the ring, while the girls both hugged my legs and Romeo and Juliet pawed at me for equal attention.

Charlie muttered a gruff hello and barely glanced my way for the rest of the day.

It was progress.

Still, things with Bella's dad improved in direct correlation with Renee's improving health.

Eleven months after the most important holiday season of my life, I opened up my own architectural firm – in Seattle – and Bella moved out of student housing.

The day Bella received her undergrad degree Renee was in complete remission. Charlie shook my hand tightly and in a shaky voice thanked me for being there for his little girl…for his family…and for proving him wrong.

Progress.

The firm did well, and a couple of years after moving to Seattle, we broke ground on a piece of land in a wooded section of Forks – a decent distance from Bella's parents. Bella picked the spot because if you took the trail behind the lot, it opened up to a beautiful meadow. Excited and happy, Bella and I gazed out at the lot that would someday be our dream home, though it would be at least a couple of years before we could complete it; before we could make reality all the things we'd dreamed about that day we went ice-fishing - plus a few additional dreams we'd come up with along the way.

So though we wouldn't be living there for a while yet, the land itself served a good purpose on the day we set up a tent over it and invited friends and family to watch Bella and I become husband and wife.

Everyone came – everyone except the one person Bella had been holding out hope for the most.

There had been no communication between Bella and Rose since that holiday season. We alternated holidays; Rose would spend every other Christmas with her parents and then New Years with her husband Royce's family. The following year we'd switch holidays.

And then six years to the day that Bella and I met, two months after she'd completed a year-long internship at a great veterinary hospital in Seattle, our entire lives changed again.

And kept right on changing…

On Christmas morning, Emmett bounded into the hospital room, his face practically split in two from the width of his grin. In one hand he held a pair of pink helium balloons, one shaped like a baby bottle, the other like a pacifier, in the other hand, a box of chocolates and a pink teddy bear.

"The balloons are to announce to the world that I'm an uncle."

Sure enough, in black sharpie marker someone had written on both balloons, 'I'm an Uncle!'

"The teddy bear is for my niece, and the box of chocolates is for both you guys," – he grinned at Bella and me – "because I'm told that's the only sweetness that'll be allowed between you two for four to six weeks."

I smirked at him without taking my eyes off of my daughter, which made me realize that I was really smirking at _her._

"You're making me smirk at my daughter," I complained.

Emmett just laughed.

Bella chuckled from her bed. "Emmett, I'm so glad you came!"

I looked up at my wife and grinned, still so friggin' grateful and awed over the crazy shit she'd just put herself through to give us our daughter.

Emmett walked over to her and gave her a warm kiss on the cheek.

"How could I not come? I'm an uncle! Mom and dad send all three of you lots of love and say to remind you guys that they'll be up in a couple of weeks."

With obvious excitement, he handed her the box of chocolates and let the balloons float to the ceiling before quickly turning to greet everyone else in the room.

"Jasper! My man! We're uncles!" he proclaimed again.

"Yeah, we are!" Jasper agreed with almost equal excitement. In his defense, he had three daughters now. Newborn baby girls weren't exactly a novelty to him.

"Al, sweety!" he greeted Alice, giving her a big hug. "Where are your princesses?"

"At home with my parents," Alice smiled. "They're dying to meet their baby cousin, but it would've been too hectic here with the three of them. They'll have to wait until she goes home."

I was secretly grateful Alice had left the girls home. Not that I didn't love them, because I did, and I could only hope that Bella and I could raise Ava Leigh the way Jasper and Alice were raising their girls – to respect everyone, especially and including each other.

But the germs!

Holy hell, since Ava had popped out of her mom less than twenty four hours ago, all I could think of was how many god damned germs were floating around in the world! In this room, on everyone's hands…

Emmett finished greeting everyone; Bella's parents with congratulations to each on becoming grandparents for the fourth time, and then a quick inquiry towards Renee regarding her health and an equally quick assurance of how great it was to hear that she was doing great.

And then he turned to me.

"Alright, bro, hand that little bundle over here." He wiggled his fingers, holding his arms up.

I narrowed my eyes at him, holding Ava closer to me.

"Do you even know how to hold a newborn?"

He snorted. "Do _you_?"

"Not the point," I scowled. "She's _my_ daughter."

"So _you're_ allowed to drop her?" he chortled.

I clenched my jaw, nostrils flaring. "I would _never_ drop her!"

"Emmett, Edward's feeling a little…possessive and territorial this morning," Bella informed him with a hint of amusement in her tone. "I see it all the time at the animal hospital."

I frowned down at her, startled by her betrayal, and so soon after we'd shared such a moment of bonding. "I am not feeling possessive or territorial. I just want to make sure-"

"Honey," she cut me off with that soft yet tired grin she'd been wearing all morning, and it reminded me of what she'd done for us, for _me_, and all feelings of betrayal melted away. "No one's going to drop the baby. You can let Emmett hold her," she assured me gently.

I pursed my lips and with a heavy sigh looked back up at my brother.

He gloated.

"Wash your hands first, _thoroughly_," I hissed.

"Relax, dude," he snickered, walking off to the sink to wash his hands. "I'm a doctor; I know all about washing hands. Matter of fact, I considered becoming a GYN but then changed my mind." He walked over to me, holding his hands out again. "You know, because of all the B-L-O-O-D involved," he whispered.

When I handed him my daughter, all comedic amusement faded away. His shoulders relaxed. Awe filled his face.

"Wow. She's beautiful. Man, Edward, you're lucky you've got Jasper and me to help chase the boys away in a few years."

We all hung out for a couple of hours, and then Jasper and Alice left to go spend the rest of the day with their own girls, and Charlie and Renee left for a while too, promising to be back later that night with a feast Renee was preparing to celebrate the holiday and the birth of the baby.

As for little Ava, she'd been alternating between sleeping and staring up dreamily at every face she encountered. She'd ended up in her mother's arms again, and when she started fussing, Bella began pulling her own pretty pink pajama shirt up.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, love, what are you doing?" I asked, my eyes growing wide.

"I'm going to nurse her," Bella replied matter-of-factly.

I turned my eyes to Emmett - who was sitting on one the chairs grinning over at us – before turning back to Bella.

She shrugged. "It's just a breast, Edward. It's all part of nature. Where do you think babies got their nourishment from before big corporations and marketers invented formula?"

"Yeah, Edward," Emmett agreed.

She started picking her shirt up again.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" I held out a hand, and she stopped once again.

I turned to my brother. "Emmett, get the fuck out."

He howled hysterically, rising to his feet before my sentence was even out. "I'm going, I'm going. I'll be down in the cafeteria getting a snack. You think half an hour is enough?"

"That should be fine," Bella laughed.

And with another chuckle, Emmett walked out.

Thirty-five minutes later, my baby daughter was fast asleep, sated and warm and safe in her mother's arms. I sat on the edge of the bed and carefully took her from Bella.

"Why don't you take a nap, love?" I suggested.

Bella shook her head. "I'm okay."

I grinned at my wife, wondering how it could possibly be that she grew more and more beautiful as the years passed. Time had given her a maturity, a self-confidence that made her absolutely breath-taking. Her hair had always been long and thick and silky, but the pregnancy had made it even more so. Her dark eyes were deeper than ever, sparkling with a happiness and fulfillment I'd never seen before, not even on our wedding day. Her skin practically glowed with radiance. Even before the pregnancy, her figure had gone from sweetly slim to womanly curvy.

I remembered the first time I'd seen her, huddled with Romeo and Juliet at her parent's kitchen door, her creamy cheeks red from the cold, a halo of snow crowning her dark head of a hair.

"You're a Christmas angel," I whispered, verbalizing my thoughts. "That's what it is."

She smiled softly, doe eyes full of love. "That little bundle in your arms is the Christmas angel."

I gazed down at the bundle, gently tapping her minuscule nose with the tip of my finger. It was hard to tell since she was barely twenty-four hours old, but I could've sworn she had her mom's features, her round eyes, her uplifted nose, that full pouty bottom lip. She was as bald as a cue ball, so it was impossible to know what color her hair would be, but from what I'd seen of her eyes so far, they looked like they might be a grayish green right now. Again, it took me back to that first Christmas with Bella when she'd assured me that a child born to parents with brown and green eyes would most likely have brown eyes. It looked like she might be wrong.

"Our daughter is a Christmas _cherub_ – the most perfect cherub possible." I looked back up at my wife. "But _you_ will always be my angel. I love you, Bella. Thank you, so, so much"

She grinned that impish grin that had gotten to me since the first time I'd seen it. "Let's see how much you're thanking me in a couple of weeks when that perfect cherub keeps waking us up every couple of hours demanding grub."

"Well, I'm thanking you now just in case I forget to do so then."

We both chuckled and held each other's gaze.

We'd timed the completion of our house to when Bella's residency in Seattle would end. We'd moved in just a couple of months ago, and with everyone's help, especially Jasper and Alice, we'd managed to get everything unpacked and ready before the birth of the baby. Her nursery was all set up and waiting for her at home. And the good thing about being an architect was that I'd designed my own home office, so that I could do most of my work from Forks and only have to head to Seattle for client meetings. And for my veterinarian wife, I'd designed and built the most state-of-the art office for her to treat her patients in – right from the comfort of her own home. Romeo, Juliet, and our spaniels Lucy and Desi had already given it their seal of approval, and it would be waiting for her too, once she was ready to start practicing.

With our daughter bundled happily between us, our heads moved closer together, eyes trailing to each other's lips because though we'd had a rocky start, right now, life couldn't get any more perfect.

That is, until someone cleared their throat behind us.

I sighed at the gruff sound of my brother's voice while Bella and I moved apart. But it was at the shock etched across her face that I turned around.

Emmett was indeed standing by the door, but so was Rosalie, watching us warily and gripping a large brown teddy bear tightly to her stomach.

"Rose," I heard Bella breath behind me.

"Hey," she answered back shakily.

We hadn't seen Rose since that fateful Christmas holiday six years ago. But from what we'd heard, things were going well for her in New York. She'd gotten married about a year after our break-up, to Royce King, a fellow architect I'd worked with a couple of times. They'd done well for the first few years, but had separated a few months ago. Bella had come home close to tears the day Renee had told her:

_I'd held her in my arms in bed and then lifted her chin so that her eyes could meet mine, and in them I'd seen the guilt I'd feared finding._

"_Hey, I understand you being upset, but why do you feel guilty?"_

_She hadn't answered me. I'd tried to be as careful with her as possible because I knew the pregnancy was making her more emotional than usual._

"_What? Do you think that somehow you and I getting together caused this to happen? Does that make any sense?"_

_She'd shaken her head slowly._

"_Then don't feel guilty, Bella. Like I said, I can understand you being upset for your sister," – a sister that hadn't tried contacting her in almost six years, but I didn't add that because she was pregnant, and I didn't want to upset her - "but that's as far as it should go."_

"_But my mom says she's taking the separation pretty hard. I wish…" she'd trailed off. "Maybe…maybe I should try contacting her."_

_I'd drawn in a deep breath and once again refrained from my full opinion, due to her state._

_Cupping her cheek I'd said, "If you want to try contacting your sister, I'm not going to try to stop you, but just do me a favor, love, okay? Wait until after the baby is born. I don't want you upsetting yourself in this state."_

_Slowly, she'd agreed, and that had been the end of it._

Until now.

Emmett cleared his throat again because the three of us seemed to be frozen. He grinned carefully.

"I…uh…found this young lady wandering the hallways, looking for the new Baby Masen, but I told her Baby Masen was in the middle of a feeding, so I took her down to the cafeteria with me for a while. She says she's your sister." He winked at Bella.

Out of my periphery, I saw Bella nod slowly.

For what felt like an eternity, the four of us just stood or sat around.

"I…" Rose began, and then with a deep breath and a shrug, "I came to see the baby."

I turned to my wife. Her face was frozen, expressionless, but then heartbreakingly slowly, a smile formed across her lips.

"Come in, Rose."

Rose didn't walk in right away, and when she did, her steps were measured and hesitant, the bear clutched tightly to her midsection. Her eyes met mine when she reached the edge of the bed. She gave me a small, unsure smile.

"Hey, Rose," I said.

She leaned her head over carefully and peered down at the bundle in my arms.

"May I?"

And as hard as it had been to hand Ava over to Emmett, it was doubly hard to do so to Rose. But this was Bella's sister, Ava's aunt, and I could feel the emotion rolling off of Bella in waves. So with deliberate care, I placed my daughter in her aunt's arms.

Rose started crying.

"She's beautiful," she said between tears.

"Thank you," Bella responded, her voice shaky. I moved in closer to her side and wrapped an arm around her, kissing her forehead.

"What's her name?" Rose asked.

"Ava Leigh," Bella responded.

"Ava Leigh," Rose repeated. "A very pretty name."

"She looks like you, Bella," Rose whispered, her eyes still on my daughter, "when you were born." She started crying again, while my wife's own sobs shook her body. I held her closer.

Emmett just sort of stood quietly by the door.

"I'm sorry, Bella," Rose murmured, trying to hold her tears in, still gazing at my daughter. "I've been…" she trailed off and then looked up at my wife, "But I never wanted you to drown. You know that, right? I would've _never_ wanted you to drown."

"I know that, Rose," Bella whispered, a small smile in her voice. "I know that. And I'm sorry too."

Rose nodded, smiling faintly. She drew in a deep breath. "I have...things I need to work out with _myself_, but..."

"So how big was she?" she asked in a stronger voice.

"Seven pounds, three ounces, twenty-one inches."

"That's a good size. Bigger than you. You were a munchkin. I thought mom and dad had brought home a skinned rabbit when they brought you home." She grinned teasingly.

Bella chuckled, sighing unevenly at the end.

"But man, were you ever loud!" Rose went on. "Woke the whole house up. Have you heard her cry yet?" she asked, gazing at the baby.

"Yeah," I smirked. "She's got a good set of lungs on her."

"If that's the case, I think I'll look into staying at a hotel for the rest of my visit," Emmett added, propped up against the door, hands in his pockets.

We all laughed.

"Who said you were welcome to stay with us, anyway?" I taunted.

"Don't worry, Em," Bella chuckled, "Romeo, Juliet, Lucy and Desi have all agreed to make room for you downstairs so that you don't have to be awoken by crying babies."

"See how they treat guests?" Emmett asked Rosalie. He moved in closer, peering at the baby over Rose's shoulder. "You see how they treat your uncle, Ava, honey? What are you going to say to them, huh? What are you going to say?"

Slowly, little Ava opened her eyes, gazing at her uncle before closing them again, completely uninterested.

We all laughed again and made small talk for about a half hour, until my wife started yawning and I sent everyone away.

"Hey, Rose, you know this area well. What's a good place to grab some dinner around here?" Emmett asked.

"There's a nice Italian place in town," Rose replied.

Emmett grinned widely and then placing his hand on the small of Rose's back, led her out of the room.

"Oh yeah? Well what say you and I go grab some nice Italiano. I'll tell you _all_ about how I became a psychologist." He turned and winked at us, walking out.

When I looked at her, Bella was frowning, but there was a curious smile on her face.

"You don't think…I mean…you think?" she finally asked.

I shrugged. "Who knows?"

And then she closed her eyes, and with Ava asleep next to us in her bassinet, I lay next to my wife, kissing her lips softly.

"Merry Christmas, Bella."

She grinned against my mouth. "Merry Christmas, Edward."

* * *

**A/N: And we're done with this relatively short little story. (At least short for me!) Hope you guys enjoyed it. Thanks, once again, for reading.**

**A few things:**

**I'll be starting another story in a few weeks or so. Put me on Author and/or Story Alert if you're interested in that. You can also follow me on Twitter - PattyRosa817 - or check out my facebook page, 'Stories by Patty Rose' if you want to be kept up to date.**

**Next, I know lots of you totally hated Rosalie. To me, she wasn't an evil person, just confused and mistaken and human, and let's face it, Bella did take her man away. To me, this wasn't a story about good guys versus bad guys – and I have written a few of those. I meant this as a story about love and family. The thing is, most families **_**are**_** dysfunctional in one way or another. Doesn't mean they don't love each other. **

**Once again, totally loved hearing all your stories about your experiences with love at first sight. Some of you have suggested that I write a story based on my brother and his wife, and yes, it would actually make a great tale. It's got a jealous ex-girlfriend, a dysfunctional family, more than one bad boy, and the sweet and quirky heroine. We'll see. Maybe someday...**

**So for the last time in this story, THOUGHTS?**


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